The Book of War
by Kuno12
Summary: The New Earth States are unstable. Avatar Korra must conquer the war within her and the one on the rise after the instability of the New Earth States turn into tragedy and the Southern Air Temple is attacked by a legacy of the late Earth Queen. Peace is fragile, but Korra is determined to protect the future of her children and the children of her friends and their families as well.
1. Korra: The Slaughter at the Southern Air

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

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**Korra: The Slaughter of the Southern Air Temple**

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Korra had never felt like such a failure. Not like this.

Not when she believed Amon got away.

Not when her uncle had fused with Vaatu.

Not even at Zaofu.

Listening to the silence, Korra sat in the chair of her husband's study, head in her hands and in her hair, still clad in her pajamas. She couldn't believe what she had just heard. If it wouldn't have been counterproductive she might have thrown the telephone clear across the room. Anger welled up inside of her chest, threatening to flood her entire body.

"Korra?" she heard Mako call as he came into the room.

"I'm here," she called back, albeit weakly. "Did you call Lin and the station?"

"Yeah... she's already heard and she's been trying to get a hold of the Southern Air Temple's radio, but..."

Korra had to fight the strong urge to cry outright.

"There's no answer?" she asked, croaking.

His silence was enough of a reply.

"We need to get to Air Temple Island... I need to talk to see Tenzin before I talk to the President," she said, almost whispering.

Mako walked toward her. He placed a hand on his wife's shoulder as she got up, holding her gaze when she finally looked up at him. "Korra," he said solemnly. "You didn't do this. You know that."

She stood for a moment, putting her hand over his as if that would have prevented her from collapsing into the ground like she wanted to at this moment.

"I still feel responsible for all those people's lives though. I might as well be."

Mako shook his head.

"We're going to get him. _He _was the one that did this. And he's going to pay for it... we all know that you're going to make sure of that. I know you will."

Korra looked Mako in the eye, searching for the strength that he was trying to instill in her. Her spirit felt conflicted. Weak from loss, but empowered by the need to take action. How could she have let this happen? Being the Avatar and the one who had desperately been trying to smooth things out, she had known that the politics of the New Earth States were falling apart at the seams, but she hadn't realized that among all these self-proclaimed warlords popping up that one would attack innocent people for the sake of sending her a message.

Well, it worked.

She'd heard the man loud and clear and she wasn't sure that even Raava could stop the surging in her veins right now.

However, in this moment, all she felt was fear. Fear that she'd never be able to look Kai and Jinora in the eye again if what she was afraid of had happened. If their only child was now dead because of something she might have been able to prevent... spirits forgive her because she would never forgive herself.

Korra took a deep breath, attempting to steady herself in some manner before they left the house.

"Is Bolin on his way to pick up the kids?" asked Korra tiredly.

Mako nodded. "Yeah, he'll be here any moment. Nuka and Tikaani can stay with him overnight and even tomorrow. I feel like we're going to be pretty busy for the next couple of days at least."

"...Mako... if something happened to Nima... Kai and Jinora... I'll never-" she had to stop herself before her voice broke again.

No.

She had to be strong.

As much as she wanted to cry right now, the world needed it's Avatar.

An Avatar that had caused the death of dozens upon dozens of people. Possibly including the only child of two people who were basically family to her. These thoughts invaded Korra's mind nonstop. Nima was like her niece. She basically _was _her niece. Korra had been there when the child was _born_ and now... it was like waiting to find out if you're own child was dead or not.

Mako, who seemed to detect this, pulled her into a hug and gently kissed her forehead. She reciprocated and they just held each other for a brief moment. He sighed and pulled back, putting his hands on her shoulders.

"You should go to Air Temple Island. You need to busy yourself right now. I'll stay here and wait for Bolin to come then I'll be there as soon as I can, okay?"

She tried to smile at him, but the miserable feeling in the pit of her belly only let her come out with a weak sort of nod.

"Mommy?"

Mako turned around and Korra withheld a shallow gasp at the sight of her seven year old daughter standing there in her white pajamas, black hair undone and amber eyes filled with uncertain worry. She was certainly her father's daughter sleuthing around the house, knowing something was very wrong indeed.

Korra walked over to her and got down on one knee.

"Hey, sweetie. We we're just about to wake you up... did you want to go on a surprise sleepover at Auntie Opal and Uncle Bolin's? You and Nuka can go play with Suna and the other kiddos when you guys wake up," Korra now plastered on a smile in earnest. If anybody needed her to smile right now, it was her daughter. "How does that sound?"

"...is Nima okay?" asked Tikaani after a moment, a little frown on her face.

Korra's smile faltered somewhat in spite of her effort to keep it up.

When she didn't answer, Tikaani asked again. "Did something happen to her? You and Daddy were talking about it..."

Korra tried not to let Tikaani see her shaky breath as she put her hands on the child's cheek. "I'm sure she's just fine," said Korra, lying to just about everyone in the room including herself. "She's always been a strong little whirlwind. You know that. Don't you worry, okay?"

Tikaani hesitated, but nodded.

Mako walked up next to Korra and bent over to be more on eye level with his younger child. "Hey, why don't you and I go wake up your brother, huh? If you're going to have a sleepover then you need some extra clothes, right?"

Again, Tikaani nodded and Korra's heart broke a little.

Spirits, please, she pleaded inside her head. Let the girl come home.

Only now had it hit Korra that not only would she never be able to face Kai and Jinora again, but her own daughter as well. At seven, would Tikaani understand the concept of death? The idea that someone you love might be gone forever? Someone so young shouldn't have to deal with that. At least not like this and certainly not concerning someone who was even younger than they were. How could Korra ever explain to her daughter that she may never see her little sister again.

When she got up, Mako leaned in to kiss her cheek in one last gesture of reassurance before leaving with Tikaani back down to their kid's rooms.

"I'm so sorry..." whispered Korra, unable to prevent the words from escaping her lips as she left the room.

After changing out of her pajamas and grabbing her glider on the way out of the house, Korra set off into the air, the summer winds doing nothing to quell the fire in her heart. There was so much fear and shame, but just as much anger. This _monster_ had targeted innocent people just for the sake of reaching out to her. All across the bay she could see the city still alive, but at peace. It was almost jarring to watch the lights down there, knowing that everybody she was passing over would be talking about the apparent tragedy at the Southern Air Temple. Yet, right now, all was at peace to those very same people.

Korra was surprised she hadn't fallen into the bay the way her body felt like lead. She let tears fall and fly off her face as she soared. So many people she had known were probably now dead. So many of them kind, but defenseless and innocent acolytes she had met over the years. Faya, a middle aged acolyte woman who'd left her grown son here at Air Temple Island while she went on a brief pilgrimage to the Southern Air Temple. Junjin, the eager new acolyte who nearly passed out meeting his hero the Avatar and had told her all about how excited he was to go off visiting the temple. Daw, the first of the new airbenders she'd talked off a bridge all those years ago. Yuniri, the acolyte woman who had just become a mother only a year ago and made the best sweet buns around. Rie, Tanda, Luli, Harahi, Ganyan, Sagana, Wenya, Hye, Onura, Kin...

Nima.

It took all of her strength not to sob in earnest at the grim thought that the next time she would see any of the these people would probably be in their graves. Under the moon as she flew, nothing could erase the self imposed fact or the feeling that it was her fault moreover than anybody else in the world right now.

She was the Avatar and she hadn't been able to prevent all those people's lives from being taken. No word had come of exactly what had happened, but the telephone call she'd received in the middle of the night told her everything she needed to know.

The phone from the family study had rung. A lighter sleeper than she was, Mako got up to grab the phone, most likely cursing whoever it was calling for trying to get a hold of them at such an undignified hour. They had sleeping children who they would have liked to make sure remained asleep for a few more hours at the very least. She expected to feel Mako climb back into bed and for him to tell her it was the just the police station calling for some important, but not all that important matter when she asked.

Instead, she suddenly felt herself being shaken awake.

"W-what?" she turned over to look at her husband, half-asleep, but alerted by the way he woke her up. "What 's wrong? Are the kids okay?"

"It's Tenzin. He's on the phone."

"Tenzin?" asked Korra, frowning groggily. "Is everything alright?"

Why would Tenzin be calling this time of night?

Mako shook his head.

"It sounds urgent."

Korra got out of bed and went walking down the hall with Mako, trying to rub the sleep out of her eyes. She wasn't sure what, but something was very wrong and it worried her how hard she felt it in the pit of her belly. By the time they reached the family study, she found herself almost praying that it was something trivial. Something silly even. Perhaps it was naïve of her to believe that Tenzin of all people would be calling at this hour for something less than urgent, but she still prayed that this feeling in her belly was wrong.

Walking over to the phone, Korra picked it up off the desk.

"Tenzin?" she asked, feeling herself brace. "Is everything alright?"

"...Suyin just radioed us," said Tenzin over the phone, almost sounding like he was shaking. "She said she received a distress call from the Southern Air Temple, but no one's answering anymore."

"A distress call...? What do you mean a distress call?" asked Korra slowly, that hardness in her belly uncoiling into some kind of dread. "What _kind _of distress call?"

There was silence over the phone and Korra felt herself start to breath at an uneasy pace.

"Tenzin, what do you mean a distress call?" she repeated.

"...She said there was screaming," he said, Korra most definitely detecting a quiver in his voice. "She said that whoever contacted them sounded like they were in serious danger. Su's already headed over there with an airship, but if something's already happened..."

Korra didn't say anything, not only letting him finish, but afraid of what her own voice might reveal.

"Korra... Kai and Jinora dropped Nima off at the temple."

Quietly, a ticking started going off in her chest and reaching up into her throat. There was the bomb being set that she'd been praying so hard to avoid.

She swallowed hard.

"They did?" she asked quietly.

"Yes... there was a situation in a nearby town and they decided to check it out on their way back. They dropped Nima off at the temple... they..." he sounded like he was trying to steady himself. "They let one of the younger acolytes watch her. Nah Ja, you remember her, don't you...?"

"Yeah..." she said, trying to speak his language at this point. Whatever was going on inside of herself at the moment, Korra could almost feel Tenzin going grey over the phone. Nothing could shake off how they were both feeling. "You said the person sounded like they were in danger?"

"That is what Su told me," sighed Tenzin.

"Like... like they were being _attacked _in danger?"

Tenzin didn't say anything again, but that was her answer enough.

Thinking for a moment, Korra sucked in and held her breath a little.

"Tenzin you don't think...?"

"I do."

She swore silently, trying to put the pieces together, but it was finally dawning on her what – or rather _whom _– was missing from this puzzle.

"He wouldn't..." said Korra, remembering her last exchange with the late Earth Queen's relative and his threats towards her. "...Oh, spirits. Yes, he would... Oh no... Tenzin..."

Korra bit her lip. Lord Hanyo had to be the biggest thorn in her side since the New Earth States started going at each others throats. He, like others with power throughout the Earth Kingdom, had raised a banner in his name.

But what made him the biggest issue was the power of legitimacy behind him. As a blood relative of the Hou-Ting dynasty of the Earth Kingdom throne, the Monarchists who wished for the old Earth Kingdom to come back flocked to him and those with aristocracy lining their pockets threw their money at him. When he started using that power to conquer other states, she confronted him.

It was like Kuvira all over again except Kuvira actually had _some kind_ of moral high ground. Kuvira had actually wanted to try and help people, twisted as she was toward the end.

She remembered the way he vowed to "reclaim his birthright that was the Earth Kingdom" and she cringed hard. Pompous as he was, he promised retribution against her interference, but all this time she thought he would come for her personally. She'd been prepared to face him or any kind of trouble on a moments notice, taking frequent enough trips away from Republic City and away from her family just in case he was stalking her. Mako wasn't happy about it, but she convinced him it had to be like this just for a little while until she could be certain that he wouldn't come after the children. In all her years of being the Avatar, that was what she was used to.

How wrong she was.

Perhaps it'd been the stress of her having to go back and forth between the individual states to put out the political, and, on occasion, real fires, but how could she have _not_ been thinking clearly about that?

Hostages. Only they weren't hostages anymore or, really, they had never been. Most likely at this point in time, they were now _victims_.

Flying over Air Temple Island now, Korra spotted tiny figures and what looked like a police boat near the harbor. Coming down, she flew across the roofs and landed in the ever familiar courtyard. Lin, Tenzin and Pema stood talking near the pond, Tenzin and Pema obviously having haphazardly pulled on robes over their own pajamas. Pema's hair was even down, her face clear with worry.

Korra approached them, trying to steady the hollow shakiness in her chest with each step.

"Korra," Tenzin turned to face her.

Korra immediately drew him and Pema into a hug.

"Have you heard anything?" Korra asked them. "From... anyone?"

"No," said Pema, her voice thick. "Nobody's answering."

Tenzin sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"If nobody's answering that also means that Suyin hasn't arrived yet either. It's only been a few hours, but..."

"We're all anxious," said Lin, putting a hand on his shoulder. "I have my men trying to get a hold of other radio stations around that area if possible as well. If there's anybody who's recently been up at the temple we'll know."

Korra nodded at Lin.

"Thanks, Lin. We need all the help we can get."

"Don't mention it, kid. Especially when we don't know what's really happened out there. Any ounce of information is crucial at point."

"Oh, I think we know what happened," said Korra, frowning, her grip on her glider tightening. "That... that _monster _did this. Hanyo. He's _attacked _the Southern Air Temple. It's the only thing and I can think of. The timing is too coincidental."

Korra refused to address him by his title of Lord. It was small, but gratifying to deny him that respect at least. Although, if she ever came face to face with him again that wasn't all she was going to do.

"I don't understand though," said Tenzin, looking down with his eyebrows knitted together. "Why? Why do this? If what we think happened is true then that means he's just attacked a temple of people out of the blue. But for _what _though?"

"For me," said Korra. "To get at me. You remember how I flew out there to straighten things out with him. He wasn't happy when I demanded him to lay down his arms. He actually had the gall to try and have me arrested... Probably felt embarrassed when I forced him to leave the state he'd just conquered. Had to use the Avatar State to convince him, but it still worked."

"So, he's paying you back?" asked Pema, incredulous. "Like a game of tit for tat?"

"Maybe..." frowned Korra. "I don't know... I... I won't know until we know _exactly_ what's happened out there."

"This goes without saying, but I'm just worried..." said Pema. "This is the most populated time of year at the Southern Air Temple what with Avatar Aang's birthday coming around and the the Yangchen Festival... everybody wants to visit the place he grew up at... there are _so _many people out there."

Korra bit her lip. Pema was right. She couldn't get that out of her mind just how many people were populating the temples at the moment and, with it being the birthplace of Avatar Aang, the Southern Air Temple was already rather popular.

Just then, a disheveled young acolyte came running down the walkway, jogging along and down the short steps to reach them.

"Suyin Beifong is on the temple radio!" he blurted, half out of breath.

Immediately, they all ran past the young acolyte, running along the walkway and into the temple to reach the radio near the top of the tower.

Tenzin got to the seat first, grabbing onto the radio.

"Su?" he asked urgently. "Suyin, are you there? It's Tenzin."

The radio woke with static, indicating that someone was on the other side.

"Suyin!" repeated Tenzin. "Suyin, _are you there?"_

"...Tenzin..." Su could finally be heard over the radio, but the weakness in her voice made Korra hold her breath.

"Yes? Yes, what is it? What's happened over there? Is everyone alright?"

"I... Tenzin, it's..."

"Su, answer us! Please!"

"...Tenzin... it was a _massacre_..."

The room suddenly went very quiet and Korra's body stood still entirely as her brain adjusted to that information.

A... a massacre?

Bringing the radio back up to his mouth, he seemed almost afraid to speak.

"W-what did you say...?"

"I... Tenzin, there are bodies _everywhere_. Whoever did this left no soul alive if they could manage. I'm so sorry..." Su almost sounded like her voice was cracking. "It was nothing short of a blood bath."

The lead that Korra swore would have taken her down on her flight to the island now washed into her veins and weighed down her arms. They went limp beside her as Korra could hear the tearful gasp of Pema behind her.

Just as she had feared to the deepest depths of her heart... everybody at the temple _was _dead. At least, most of them. There was no count or anything of yet, but from the way Su was making it sound bodies littered every part of the temple.

"My men are already searching and gathering the bodies..."

"Ha...have you seen..." began Tenzin, but he just couldn't say her name.

"We haven't found Nima's... we haven't found Nima yet," said Su, as if trying to keep herself together on her end. "We'll keep looking. Her parents are here now. We got here about the same time and I've got a whole squad helping them search for her. "I'm... I'm sure she's fine Tenzin."

Korra felt sick to her stomach. She, like everybody in that room, knew that it was perfectly possible, _likely _even, that Nima had been killed and her body fallen off the side of the temple mountain or something. Spirits, she didn't want to think about it, but she also hadn't wanted to think about all those people that were possibly – now confirmed – dead.

Not knowing what else to do, Korra glanced around to see Lin with an awkward, but firm arm around a crying Pema.

I just killed your granddaughter, thought Korra, looking at Pema then back at Tenzin. Your granddaughter and all those people are dead because of _me_.

Numbly, Korra sat beside Tenzin, watching him with the bottom half of his face rested against a hand. He, too, looked like he was staring off into space. As if he couldn't believe this was all happening. If she didn't know better Korra would have thought, or prayed rather, that she was still in her own bed as well.

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Hello, everyone! Dark start for a new fic, eh?

I've been sitting on this idea for a while and basically this is the start of things. This is going to be a multiple POV fic where's there's one POV per chapter. More or less Korra is the main POV, but she's going to share this fic with other characters. Hers, however, is what's going to tie everything together. Makorra, Kainora and Bopal is our trinity of kids, but if you're an Asami fan, don't worry! She doesn't just disappear or anything and I'll reveal who her family is in a bit later chapters. These first two chapters are going to be prologues, however, told through Korra's POV and will be set when our cast of next gen kids are children. I'm going to try and do these POV switches in blocks so that not every chapter you're getting a new POV and getting whiplash with it. Each POV tells a story and I'm confirming that you're going to get POV's from Nima and Nuka early on. That's all for now! More things to be revealed later!

Just to give everyone a bit on how old all these kids are: Nuka was born in 178 AG, Tikaani and Suna were born in 179 AG and Nima was born in 182 AG. So, here, Nuka is eight, Tikaani and Suna are seven and Nima is four.

This being a next gen story, it may be hard to get out there and for people to take notice. I really, _really _appreciate those reviews if you read this. Even if you want to criticize something or point something out it tells me you care enough to say something. Those reviews really mean a lot to me and they give me the strength to keep writing, not just in this story, but all my stories and tell me that I _should _ keep writing. They're empowering no matter what you have to say (and what you have to say means something no matter what). So, if it's not too much, I'd love to read it if you guys drop those reviews as they keep me writing this story.

Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


	2. Korra: Waiting for the Burnout

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

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**Korra: Waiting for the Burnout  
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The days after the attack blurred together.

The only good thing that came out of the entire debacle was that Nima was not, in fact, dead. However, that was about the extent of it. According to Kai and Jinora, she'd been hiding out in a lesser known room in one of the towers when they found her. Though relieved she was physically okay, Korra still felt the need to see the girl before she could mentally move on to her next problem. Due to Korra's own lack of foresight, Nima had witnessed the deaths of some eighty four people at the temple, including that of her caretaker, Nah Ja.

The three of them took lodging at Zaofu for a couple days just to rest up before they finally flew home. The day after the attack, Korra had every intention to fly out to Zaofu just to see if she could catch Kai and Jinora as well as get some extra information from Su, but apparently that wasn't going to happen on the President's watch.

Walking up the flight of stairs to President Dao's office, Korra was in _no _mood to deal with the woman. She did not want to hear "I told you so" from her and quite frankly this was not the time. For someone who was supposedly a wise world leader, she had no sense of priority.

When she entered the room Korra exchanged few greetings with the woman.

"President Dao," she closed the door behind her. "You said you wanted to see me."

The woman looked up, blue eyes meeting Korra's own. There was no sense of welcome or even usual politeness and Korra had to resist the incredible urge to sigh. This was going to give her a headache wasn't it?

"I assumed you might want to discuss the events that occurred at the Southern Air Temple," she said, putting her files into her desk. "Seeing as I had foretold something of such a nature."

"Actually, I don't want to discuss it," said Korra shortly. "I want to go out and get some information before I discuss it with anybody of official status. We need information. Not wasted time."

Dao's lip curled back.

"This is a matter of national security, Avatar. We need to secure Republic-"

"I don't work for you," interrupted Korra. "Republic City concerns me, but it's not my _only_ concern. I have a madman with an army sitting out there somewhere in the world who just ordered the attack on a defenseless temple. Almost one hundred people are reported dead. I'm going to say it again and make it clear: I don't have time to waste talking to you. I need to be out there."

"Avatar Korra," Dao stood up and came around her desk. "These "wastes of time" are important. I _told _you something like this would happen, but would the almighty Avatar listen? No, of course not because you know all. If you had just gone on the offensive against Lord Hanyo-"

"And then what?" snapped Korra. "If I were to wage a full-scale assault against Hanyo on _your _orders then I'd be attacking him as your unofficial representative and then he'd _really_ have a reason to attack Republic City. He hardly had a reason to attack the temple! Imagine what would have happened if the Avatar and the President of the United Republic of Nations handed him a reason on a silver platter. He has an _army_. It'd be Kuvira all over again!"

"You could have used the Avatar State to annihilate his army!"

"The Avatar State is not a toy," said Korra, frowning. "And if you hadn't noticed I _did _end up using the Avatar State against him. The only reason why I even used it was because I _had _to. I tried to negotiate with him, but apparently he thought it'd be better for him if he just took me hostage. So, yes, that time I did use the Avatar State. Why do you think he left the state of Chong-Yen so quickly? Why do you think he attacked the temple in the _first _place? I may not have launched a full-scale assault on him, but confronting him was enough to make him, _once again in case you didn't hear_, attack a temple full of _defenseless _people. Let me remind you that those people at the temple had no chance."

"Avatar Korra," sighed Dao, rubbing the bridge of her nose. "The temple, while a tragedy, is the least of our concerns right now-"

"It's our biggest concern right now-"

"Avatar Korra, you don't understand!"

"_No, you don't understand!_"

Korra's voice boomed and she stepped forward. She'd had enough. Though scaring the President wasn't in Korra's intentions she also didn't regret it. There were enough problems in the world without adding the President trying to pull the Avatar on a string for her own whims. Obviously, Dao was just trying to do her job, but she also had a one-track mind and didn't realize that the United Republic of Nations was not the center of the entire world. Hanyo was still out there conquering states. If she didn't get that then that was her problem.

"I don't have _time _for this and you're not _getting _that. Me here talking to you about things that don't matter at this moment helps nobody! Worse is that you seem to have no sympathy for the people who just lost their lives and the families of those people. We're not protecting places, Dao, we're protecting _people_. If you can't get that then maybe the public should have voted your opponent in. At least she might have been able to see what's really important," Korra turned to walk back towards the door. "Then again, I always did feel like there was something fishy about how that election came out."

Only looking at the woman long enough to see the apparent scowl on her face, Korra left the room. Though relieved to finally get away, she was also fuming a little. How could Dao not see that people's lives had been lost? Those who had lost their loved ones destroyed? While she understood looking at the bigger picture, in her years, she'd learned that there would be no bigger picture if not for certain details. People made places and not the other way around.

Rubbing a temple with her fingers, she left the building and was ready to take off to deal with her next problem when someone honked the horn rather loudly. On instinct, she turned and sighed appreciatively at who it was driving up next to her.

Mako got out of the car and walked around to her.

"Hey, sweetie," Korra smiled tiredly. "I thought you were supposed to be at the station?"

"I was," he said, kissing her on the forehead in greeting. "But I remembered you had a meeting with your _favorite _person and all-"

She almost groaned on cue.

"-I figured I'd come down just to see how you were doing."

"I'm fine. It's everyone else I'm worried about," she said, sighing restlessly. "I mean, Nima's okay apparently, but I still wanted to go to Zaofu and check her out. Though it looks like I'm going to have to wait until they get back. Then, Miss Priority Check back in her office thinks I'm her henchman or something. Not to mention all the grieving families I haven't even been able to see yet. People have been bombarding me with questions non-stop about the attack like I was there and all I want to do is _get some information_. The radio stations around the city might have picked up bits and pieces from that area. If I can possibly pick up the right pieces then I might be able to see where exactly Hanyo's heading now and even _confirm _that it was his doing, but it takes _time _to get to all these places. Nobody knows anything and I'd be able to answer everyone's questions if they'd give me a chance to investigate!"

She leaned her behind up against the car and rubbed her forehead much like she'd seen Tenzin do so often. Mako leaned up next to her.

"Tell me about it," he said. "The station's been getting calls non-stop and the Chief's got everybody on notice, but we're just trying to do the same thing. Everybody's so worried that Hanyo's going to come attack Republic City. The worst part is that we can't really make any promises except assure everyone who calls that the police have the city's safety as their top priority as always."

"Yeah, the President's worried about that too," she said, frowning. "I'll admit she has a point, but how can I protect anyone if nobody lets me go long enough to do the job? She has to understand that if she wants Republic City safe then she needs to stay out of my way unless talking with me is absolutely necessary."

"Sweetheart?"

"...yes?"

"You and I both know you also just don't like her either."

Korra grumbled.

"Do you?"

"Not particularly, but neither do most people it seems," he pushed himself flat onto his feet. "But anyway. Here, eat lunch with me real quick before we have to go back on crisis duty."

"I can't," she said, doing the same thing. "I really need to get back to it. The longer I stand around the longer nothing gets done."

"And the longer you wait to eat the less you'll be able to concentrate," said Mako, frowning worriedly. "Korra, I know you want to jump into action, but... I hate to say it. There's nothing any of us can do immediately. You only ate a meat bun before you left the house this morning. That was what? Five hours ago and you've been going non-stop since? You need your strength. Here, I grabbed some noodles from that water tribe joint on the way here. Just eat up for like ten minutes so you don't burn out."

Thinking about it for a second, Korra relented. The last thing she needed today was to burn out and then be useless when everyone needed her.

"You're right," she said, finally opening the car door. "I just need a quick recharge."

"Exactly," said Mako, going around to the driver's side and climbing in. "I'll drive you to where you need to go next too before I head back."

"Thanks. I just didn't want to drag Naga all over the city. Who knows how long I'll be at it?" she asked, pulling out a warm container and chopsticks from a bag. "Did you get a chance to talk to Nuka's waterbending master?"

He pulled out his own bowl.

"Yeah, he said he needs to work more on his breathing techniques. He says Nuka's good, but too eager to get to things. We'll need to help him work on that sometime. What about Tikaani? I'm not sure if we should bother Jinora about taking her on with everything that's happened."

"I'll have to talk to her," said Korra, slurping her noddles. "I'm not sure either, but it all depends. We may just have to wait on that. If not, we'll have to work something else out."

"Preferably with someone who's big on restraint. She gets a bit... much with her firebending. And that's coming from me."

"Oh, I know. Spirits bless her, I love her, but she's something else with that fire kick I showed her."

"We really need to talk to our kids. Tikaani's going to kill her brother, I swear," said Mako briskly, putting down his bowl and pulling out a notebook from his pocket to scribble it down on his to-do list.

Korra looked over at him, cracking a much needed amused smile. He glanced up, doing a double-take and scowled a little.

"Don't look at me like that! I happen to care about the mortality of our children!"

Her smile split into a small grin.

"I do too, sweetie, but you worry about _everything_ entirely too much."

-:-:-:-

A couple days past and Korra had some ups and downs with her Republic City bound investigation. On one hand, the radio stations would contact the police if there was any bit of information about Hanyo's forces. The second day after the attack, Daw had flown in, tired and carrying a worn and torn group of people on his bison. She was overjoyed that he was alive and could have crushed him in a hug when she got to him. Though tired and having clearly been weeping, Daw was eager to tell what he knew. According to him, an airship had shown up the morning of the attack out of the blue. When it landed, nobody was hardly given a chance to process what was going on when a man – the way Daw described him she knew it had to be Hanyo – seemed to order the soldiers to attack with a simple wave of his hand. After that, it was nothing but chaos. Daw himself had loaded up a bison with as many people as it could carry and flew away from the scene, bringing the people to safety. Korra's heart sank deep when Daw started to break at that point in the story.

"I s-should have _stayed,_" he choked on his tears to Korra, who pulled him into another crushing hug. "I-I had students there! Children! B-but everyone was running to the bison and _I thought they'd all be right behind us!_"

No matter how much Korra tried to assure him he did the right thing, Daw could only lament on the people he had to leave behind. What was he supposed to do? Stay and fight a whole army by himself? Airbender though he was, it was obvious that the scene had erupted into mayhem. Retreat was the only option and she tried to make him understand that he'd saved lives too just by steering that bison to safety.

The more his story stirred in her head though the more things came together. It at least explained why so many people had died and not just flown off on bison: they'd been left behind. From what she was gathering, the bison had been scared off by the soldiers. Her suspicions were confirmed as the days trickled on and small groups of bison without riders kept flying in to Air Temple Island. Korra thought about Daw and all these things as she rode on the ferry to the island that day.

"Mommy? What's wrong?"

She felt her hand being tugged and looked down, her son's amber eyes on her as Tikaani looked over the side of the boat to watch the island come closer into view. He reminded her of herself. Not just in the way he, admittedly, looked exactly like her, but in the way he stared at her with a sense of wanting nothing more than to help make whatever it was that was wrong better.

"I'm okay, sweetie," she said, smiling. "Mommy's just thinking about something."

"Is it about those people everyone keeps talking about?" he asked. "The ones that got hurt?"

Letting out a breath, Korra brushed back her son's hair to tuck it behind his ear.

"Yes," she said, smiling sadly now. "I'm thinking about those people that got hurt."

He frowned at her, clearly worried. Sighing, Korra squeezed his hand in hers.

"It's alright. Mommy's got it, okay?"

Hesitantly, he nodded at her and went back to looking over the side of the boat with his sister.

When they got to the island, Korra and her children walked along, taking in scenery as they found their way to Kai and Jinora's living spaces. While her children obviously knew no different, Korra felt a little strange being on the island. It wasn't even that the place felt unfamiliar as it felt like maybe she _shouldn't _be there. All those acolytes had died more or less because of something she had done and here she was strolling along the grounds that they once called home. Perhaps it was a bit overly sensitive of her, but she couldn't help it. With time, she hoped, some of this feeling would go away.

In the distance, Jinora was unmistakable with her brown hair so long now. Even from behind you could always tell it was her. Kai, his messy hair now split in the front to show off his tattoos nowadays, stood next to her as they watched Nima playing in the courtyard. Korra smiled when they waved. Finally, she could have some much needed time with them and put herself at least a little at ease.

"...She looks... fine?" Korra looked at Kai and Jinora questionably as they watched their children play together from the walkway.

"I know," sighed Jinora, her eyes following Nima as she put her hands into her sleeves. "We shouldn't be this worried seeing at how she seems to be doing, but..."

Kai pursed his lips.

"The way she's acting just kind of makes you."

Korra watched as well, knowing exactly what they were talking about. She couldn't help but feel uneasy at the way Nima ran around, her green eyes alight and her brown hair bouncing around her shoulders just the same way as it had before. It made you a little anxious wondering what was going on inside her head... if something might be ready break and you just didn't know it.

"What did the doctors say?" asked Korra. "Did they say this was normal?"

"Yes and no," replied Kai, his head going side to side for a moment.

Jinora looked at Korra and spoke quietly.

"She started "being fine" the day after we found her. Acted like nothing happened. The doctors say that this is just how she's dealing with it."

"By... not dealing with it?"

"I know, it's strange. She wasn't that far away from Nah Ja's body, but here she is acting like nothing even happened. They say it's doubtful she's actually forgotten it as it is she's pushed into the far corners of her mind."

Kai put his arm around Jinora when she bit her lip.

"We don't think it's exactly healthy either," he said, frowning. "But the doctors also insist that if we try to make her deal with it then it could just add to the trauma."

Korra nodded, understanding completely.

"And this is how she's coping," said Korra.

Jinora closed her eyes and nodded.

"I don't know what to do. I feel like we should do _something_, but there's nothing _to_ do if she won't talk about it. It's like... do we just let her go on like this or do we try to get her deal with it? The options aren't pretty. She's so young..." said Jinora, looking back at Nima playing with Tikaani and Nuka. "I don't want to make it worse by having her talk about it."

They were all quiet for a moment, taking in just how sunny and bright the day was despite all that was going on.

Korra broke the silence.

"And you shouldn't make her," she said, speaking carefully.

Kai and Jinora looked at her.

"You don't think so, huh?" asked Kai.

"It'd be different if she were fifteen, even ten years older, but... she's four. I remember when I finally faced Zaheer about what happened to me. It took Kuvira harvesting spirit vines and Jinora being kidnapped to make me finally face it and I was twenty-one years old. She's pushing the memories away for a reason."

"She's not ready," said Jinora, her voice soft.

Korra swallowed and nodded.

"And she might not be for a very long time."

Kai sighed.

"We were lucky to even find her _alive _in all of that. We just want her to be okay... I feel like she's not going to be one hundred percent okay no matter what we choose," he said, looking down a little. "I've... I've never felt fear like that. Never like that. In my heart, I kept telling myself that she was okay. That she was fine and waiting for us, but in my head... seeing all those people and as we kept passing them... we were losing our minds, but I was also losing hope fast..."

"I..." began Jinora, her voice cracking a little. "There weren't many children there and all the ones we did see among... among everyone... were older, but I don't think I've ever felt so sick. Not just physically... everything. Every way. And with our baby in the front of my mind I... I don't know, Korra. It's a parent's worst nightmare, but that's such an understatement. I can't even begin to tell you."

"I'm so sorry that you all had to go through that," said Korra, her chest tightening and her eyes stinging a little. "I'm just so sorry. You two, Nima... all those people... none of you would have had to experience this if it weren't for me. Hanyo did this to get at me for something _I _did. I'm so, so sorry."

Kai and Jinora now looked at her, Jinora's eyebrows knitted together in worry and Kai frowning.

"This isn't your fault, Korra," said Kai.

Jinora took Korra by the hand and squeezed it tight.

"Kai's right. It didn't matter what you did or didn't do. I'm fairly certain Hanyo would have done something like this eventually the way he was going. Don't do this to yourself."

"I'm trying," said Korra. "But, spirits, I can't help it."

"Believe us," said Kai, "We get it. I don't think either of us can let go of the fact that _we _were the ones who left Nima at the temple in the first place."

"To take care of a problem in another town," said Korra, looking between the two. "A town that was nearby and you left her in the care of someone you trusted. There was no way you could have known. You know that."

"We do," said Jinora, slowly. "But I guess it's going to take a while for that to sink in... though we're definitely trying to let it. Especially for Nima's sake... Korra, you didn't know the attack was going to happen either. Avatar or not, you're not a fortuneteller or a mind reader."

Jinora and Korra's eyes met. They stared at each other for a moment before Korra finally sighed.

"And I should let that sink too, shouldn't I? For the world," said Korra, looking at them with a small appreciative smile.

The couple smiled back, nodding sagely and turned back to watch the children.

Korra squeezed Jinora's hand then let go.

"Well," began Korra. "Maybe... we have to look at the bright side then...? At least she _is _coping with it. She could not be coping at all and having a complete breakdown, but she's not. She's here safe and sound with you two and playing like a normal four year old."

Kai nodded and he looked at Jinora who smiled at him.

"And for that we're grateful," she said, motioning for Korra to sit down with them on some nearby chairs. "Perhaps we should just move forward with that. Ah, by the way, now that we're talking about the kids... did you still want me to take on Tikaani?"

"Oh, thanks for remembering that. Yeah, actually. It'd be really helpful if it's not too much right now. Aside from being your student, you know Mako and I sometimes get taken away from the kids... especially at times like this."

"We understand," said Jinora. "Us too at times. We hate it, but it's nice when you feel like there's someone you trust who's there for them as well. We're just lucky to live in such a close-knit community."

"Exactly... I'd really appreciate it, Jinora."

"I'd be happy to. You know I love that little girl. Tikaani's always seemed adaptable too. A bit... eccentric as well when she fights I notice. I think the Ba Gua style will be good for her. Besides, you know Nima gets so excited when she comes over. I think it'll be good for her to have that big sister figure around much more often."

Korra nodded.

"Good for both of them. Nuka loves his probending so that generally keeps him happy when things get busy and Bolin doesn't mind taking him down to the arena. I want my daughter to have something that makes her happy too."

Jinora smiled.

"Then we're set," she said, moving towards the chairs. "As for Nima, from now on we should just concentrate on making sure she's happy if not busy. Of course were going to always be monitoring her, but if she's not showing any troubling signs then it's honestly just more productive."

"Mommy? Daddy?" called Nima, pulling Tikaani along by the arm. "Kaani's going to play airball with me and Nuka's going to come watch!"

"Okay, sweetie. Just be careful," called Kai as the three of them waved a little and the kids ran off. He sat down next to Jinora, folding his arms over his chest tiredly. "I agree. We shouldn't make her feel like she's doing something wrong. Monitoring her is the only thing we really _can _do I suppose. It's no use exhausting ourselves otherwise."

Korra started to sit down herself.

"Spirits, tell me about it. I think we're all a little exhausted at this poi-"

She suddenly stopped when her hand clamped down on the back of the chair, eyes wide and frozen mid-seat as something clicked in her brain. Pushing herself back onto her feet she shook her head at her own folly.

Jinora, apparently thinking the same thing, was already out of her chair.

"What? What's wrong?" asked Kai, unfolding his arms.

Korra walked right behind Jinora.

"Airball doesn't work with firebenders."

A second later, she heard him swear and follow after her.

-:-:-:-

Hanyo of the Hou-ting Dynasty was a remarkably unremarkable man.

It had to be a stereotype that monsters needed to be intimidating to be monsters because Korra had simply found that wasn't so. He wasn't like Amon who definitely struck fear into your heart or even like Unalaq or Zaheer who just had something about them that made them stand out a little bit. If you didn't know Hanyo was a relative of the late Earth Queen then you might not spare him another glance.

It almost infuriated her in all honesty.

Over the course of the following weeks, she had tracked him down to a fine place in the Earth State of Gongyo and, for once, Korra had taken President Dao's advice. She induced the Avatar State to capture him knowing he'd armed his somewhat obvious hiding place nicely. When all was said and done and she had him in her custody, his army scattered. In years past, Korra had relied on the Avatar State's power alone, but she'd come to learn that just witnessing it's power was enough to make most people think twice. Hearing about it apparently was enough to make other warlords and leaders calm down for the time being. It was nice to know that she hardly had to use it these days. Rather, reminding troublemakers that she had it did wonders.

She'd made it clear that she was already angry and any further trouble was only going to make it worse. Knowing the game already, Korra knew they probably weren't going to risk being attacked by the Avatar in a fully-induced Avatar State rage.

Yet, here was Hanyo.

Having been dragged down from his self-placed pedestal and still here he sat at the defense table, sitting as if someone were just fixing him a cup of tea. She'd seen him brought in and made note of his dull green eyes and his common dark hair. He reminded her of the Earth Queen the way you knew he thought too highly of himself. By the way he carried himself you were supposed to be honored in his presence and it made Korra want to throw up.

This criminal was not given a private trial. He didn't _deserve _a private trial nor did he want one. It was as if he wanted everyone to see him for the sake of seeing him, never mind that he was being tried for mass murder and crimes against humanity among other things. She had to grudgingly admit that his top officers were elusive; none of his top officials had been captured, but the fact that they'd gone into hiding was telling when here was their leader in custody and on trial.

Next to her, Mako sat and next to them were Kai and Jinora. They'd been asked to have Nima possibly testify and, of course, they'd refused. While they wanted to help, there was no way that they were going to put their four year old daughter in front of a crowd of people to relive the killing of eighty four people. Thankfully, however, Daw was willing to testify and several other people who had survived the attack. None of them had been left behind like Nima had, but it was enough for the judge and, quite frankly, the evidence was surmounting anyway.

That being said, Hanyo did not deny he ordered the attack. He didn't say anything, but he also hadn't bothered to defend himself. Not that it would have helped. By now, everybody knew who's hand was responsible for what was being called the Slaughter at the Southern Air Temple.

On Korra's left, Asami sat and beside her Ginger was tightly squeezing Asami's hand, her eyes over bright. When Asami and Ginger walked in hand in hand, Korra was only further saddened to learn that Ginger apparently had a relative who'd been out there.

"Kiki was her first cousin," Asami explained quietly as Ginger went in to sit down. "They grew up in the Southern Water Tribe together before Kiki went off to become an Air Acolyte. They were still sending letters to each other when..."

Korra bit the inside of her cheek. Kiki's face came to mind and now she realized why it had seemed so familiar to her when they'd first met. She remembered her. The cheerful one who always seemed to keep up with Varrick's movers and now she knew why.

"I knew Kiki... Please tell her I'm sorry, Asami... I still can't believe all this is all happening," said Korra.

"Neither can I," said Asami, frowning sadly. "But I will. She's been crying for days and I just feel so helpless. I can't make the pain stop and she says it's enough that I'm just there, but..."

"You just want to do more..."

Korra looked away a little, wanting to cry at this point.

Asami looked at her.

"But we have him," said Asami gently and looked Korra straight in the eye. She put her hand on Korra's shoulder. "We have him. That's what matters and _you _got him. Don't forget that, Korra. He did this and you got him. Now, he has to pay the consequences for what he did."

Korra smiled gratefully. It was becoming a conscious thing that she was doing now, reminding herself that she didn't kill those people. The world needed it's Avatar, but actively trying not to blame yourself was a fight because her actions _had _been an indirect cause of what had happened. Indirect and unintentional, but a cause nonetheless.

Here they sat now, at the end of Hanyo's trial and all she wanted to see was that casual pleasant expression on his face wiped away. It was hard to feel like justice was served when the person being prosecuted almost seemed to enjoy what was going on. Then again, Korra's main concern was his inability to cause any more tragedies. Not his feelings. Though it was certainly hard to keep that in mind as she watched acolyte after acolyte take the stand to testify, recalling and reliving the attack. It was especially hard to remember that when a few of them couldn't keep the tears out of their eyes or strain out of their voice.

Ready to announce the verdict, the judges looked over the crowd. These judges came from all corners of the globe, each dressed in the colors of their representative nations. Hanyo was being judged by no less than the entire world. The head judge in the middle, a serious looking middle-aged man dressed in shades of violet, stood up and the room quieted so that you could hear a pin drop.

He cleared his throat.

"In the face of indisputable evidence gathered and overwhelming testimony heard here today, there is little that has to be said. This panel gathered from all nations of the world have come to a decision and it is unanimous. We, the judges, find Hanyo of the Hou-Ting dynasty _guilty _of _all _charges. Due to the nature of his crimes, the punishment is_ death_."

The crowd whispered amongst itself, hushed tones flying about how there could be no other verdict or just punishment.

Part of Korra didn't want him to be executed. She may have been the Avatar, but it wasn't really her style nor did she think the Air Nation would condone it. She would have rather him spent life in prison, but she understood why this was a better decision. As long as he was alive he'd still garner support and his supporters could still rally behind him. Even attempt to break him out of prison eventually. This trial was in place to _stop _Hanyo once and for all. If they couldn't do that then this was all pointless.

Still, Korra watched as he was taken away. He didn't speak to her once. He didn't even look at her, but she could still see that pleasant smile and spirits knew she really wanted to go over there and slap him across the face before he left the room.

"I'm not really into execution sentences at all," she told Asami as they got up. "But this is for the best."

"I agree," said Asami, turning to her and Mako. "Though I don't want to think about it to be honest."

"Neither do I, but after everything he's had it coming. How else did he think this was going to end?" sniffed Ginger, wiping her own tears with her free hand. She turned to Mako and Korra. "Will the police be escorting him?"

Mako nodded.

"We're going to escort him part of the way before we hand him off to federal forces. They're going to take him the rest of the way to make sure he gets there. We're expecting some kind of rescue en route so it's just to be safe."

"That's good," said Ginger. "It'd be a nightmare if he were to escape."

"Agreed," said Korra, nodding. "One nightmare just finished. The last thing we need is another."

-:-:-:-

Looking wide-eyed, Korra's mouth fell open.

"_How _did that happen, Mako?" Korra stared at her husband."I thought the federal forces were supposed to ensure he wouldn't escape! They drove him away in an armored car!"

Mako rubbed the bridge of his nose, growling at the situation himself.

"They didn't break him out en route! Apparently, somebody was already waiting at the execution site. It was all set up by the time they got there."

"And nobody knew the wiser? Nobody had _planned_ for this?"

"This was obviously a preemptive countermeasure. All the pawns were planted before any of this even happened."

Korra swore the air up and down. She couldn't _believe _that there were people _still _willing to hide him! _Still _willing to follow him and _still _willing to help him escape! Though unfair in the moment, she was starting to really hate the Monarchists right about now.

"I know," said Mako, getting back on the phone with the station. "I said the same thing."

* * *

Whew, so that's a lot going on in this chapter! But it is the last part of the prologue so I had quite a bit of ground to cover.

So, my little surprise I put in there. I'm sure some of you are going "Asami and _Ginger?_" I know, I know. Me too in all honestly. Originally, when this story started out, Asami was supposed to not be with anybody and just have adopted a son, but I was going back on Book 2 a little bit and one of the characters I felt had so much potential that we never got to explore was Ginger. I always felt like she was portrayed in this light where she was shallow or even snobby, but really... _we _know Bolin meant no harm, but if a guy I worked with (acting or not) was being like that I wouldn't be super thrilled with him either. I always felt like she just took her job seriously and Bolin was the one kind of crossing a line until we got to the Ginger's last scene in Book 2. The more I thought about her, the more I mentally explored things together until I landed on Ginsami (is what I'm calling it). The way their both in very public and professional lines of work and the red lips and the good looks. I don't know... a crack ship was just _born _and I had no way of stopping it? So, Ginger made her way into Asami's love life as I explored their story more and I have this whole background for them, but I won't be revealing it until later in the story so :3

Here you also physically met Nima for the first time as well as Nuka. Bopal's family unfortunately didn't make it into this chapter all that much because of length crunches, but they'll be around.

Now, if you want any visuals for my future verse and this story then head on over to my tumblr (my user is kuno-chan) and check out my art tag!

I really appreciate all the feedback chapter one got. Every word means a lot to me because, as I've said before, next generation stories are hard to promote due to them being OC's. That being said, as always you guys know I love it when you leave those reviews and I just can't express how much I appreciate them. They tell me that I should keep writing and they _do_ keep me writing.

Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


	3. Jinora: Nine Years Later

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

* * *

**Jinora: Nine Years Later  
**

* * *

"I should have known... I _told _your daughter to go to the training circle, but lo and behold, she's not there."

Kai looked up at his wife, obviously hiding a smile with his hand brushing the corners of his mouth.

Jinora scowled at him a little.

"Don't look at me like that," she said, sticking out her bottom lip slightly. It was bad enough that Nima hadn't done exactly what her mother had told her to do, but she didn't need lip from her own husband. In hindsight, perhaps she should have given it more thought knowing her daughter would probably run off unless kept an eye on, but it'd been a busy day. She shouldn't have had to babysit her thirteen year old.

"Yeah, but like she was going to stay there," he said, walking toward her with an amused smile. "You know how Nima is."

Jinora sighed.

"I do. I should have at least said something like I'd check on her, but I was running late for a meditation session with some of the older children and I figured she'd stay put."

"There?" snorted Kai. "The kitchen. Sure. Training circle? I don't think so."

They headed out of the temple building and onto the walkway, keeping an eye out in case they heard or saw any signs of their daughter. Jinora kicked herself in the butt a little bit, knowing full well Nima avoided the training circles like a cat owl to water. If she hadn't been in a hurry she might have stayed to to make _sure _some actual training was happening. Though as it was, Nima had escaped to some probably far off part of the island and now Jinora had to do some tracking down.

"Well, I'm going to go look for her. She can't be avoiding practice like this especially when I _told _her to get some training done. Maybe Rama or Taani have seen her," she said, stopping at a split in the walkway. "I doubt she'd tell the twins where she'd be off to, but maybe they saw her."

"Maybe. I have to go help Rohan deal with the younger children. He's still kind of new to the whole teaching little kids thing and I said I'd give him a hand today. If I see her though I'll catch her."

"Okay," she nodded, leaning in for a kiss "I'll see you in a bit."

They went off in opposite directions and Jinora sauntered along, hands in her long sleeves and appearing almost to just be enjoying a casual stroll on a warm summer day. She stepped down off the walkway and headed towards the training circle again, hoping that Nima might have only left the circle for a moment and really _had _been training all this time. Of course, when she actually got to there, all that hope had been in vain and she found the court empty.

"What am I going to do with that child?" she sighed heavily. Continuing to wander the island, Jinora headed towards the kitchen, deciding to start with one of her daughter's favorite spots. If she was lucky, then Nima was just scavenging the kitchen for a fruit tart or something. When she got there Nima wasn't around, but instead found a brown-eyed boy sitting at the table, his darker brown hair pulled into a ponytail and his eyes a lighter shade than Jinora's. His skin was also a few shades lighter than his father's, but aside from that, Rama resembled Kai quite a bit and Jinora sometimes wondered if her son looked like his father when he was the same age.

"Hi, sweetie," Jinora came around, putting a hand on her son's head.

Rama looked up from his book just in time to receive his mother's kiss on his forehead.

"Oh, hi, Mom," he said, blinking at her.

"What are you doing in here?" she asked curiously. "You usually like to read outside, don't you?"

He nodded and flipped a page of his book.

"I'm just waiting 'cause Naoka's going to get me one of his Dad's Nuktuk books to read."

"Nuktuk? And Uncle Bolin knows about this...?" she asked slowly. "I know for a fact he's a little embarrassed about that book Varrick had published... I read it."

Rama shrugged.

"Naoka doesn't think it's going to be a big deal. His dad gave it to him so I guess it's okay."

"Alright, as long as it's okay and you return it. Now, have you seen Nima around anywhere?"

He made a face at her, his lip and eyebrow pulling up a little.

"I don't look for her."

"I didn't ask you that, sweetie," she said over-patiently. "I asked if you happened to see her or if she maybe told you where she was going."

"But Mom I'm eight. She doesn't tell me anything."

"Ramashan."

Her son's face melted into a scowl and he turned as red as a little steamed tomato.

_"Don't call me that."_

"Then don't talk back to me. Besides, there's nothing wrong with your name," she said sweetly, kissing the top of his head. "So, you haven't seen your sister?"

"No," he said, the pout still in his lip. "Why?"

"I left her at the training circle and she ran off. That's all."

Rama's lip retracted into a little smile, his eyebrow raised bemusedly now.

"But Mom, you know she wasn't going to stay there if you just left."

Now it was her turn to make a face. Her own son too. Jinora's lip twisted a little.

"You're just like your father," she sighed, turning to leave. "If you see her tell her I want to talk to her. Now, don't be sneaking any pastries in before dinner, okay?"

He nodded affirmatively and shrugged a little, going back to his book.

Jinora left the kitchen, moving along until she found herself passing the greenhouse. On a whim, she peaked inside and smiled at the sight of a small girl bent over a flower pot, her skin and hair the same shade as Rama's though, instead of a ponytail, her wavy hair was in a short bob. Jinora walked into the warmth of the greenhouse and up next to her daughter.

"Taani, sweetheart?" Jinora put a gentle hand on her back.

Taani looked up with blank grey eyes and a small straight mouth. She blinked slowly at her mother. Jinora smiled in return.

"I was just seeing what you were doing honey. Are those the hibiscus you were trying to grow?"

Taani nodded, picking up her pot and standing up straight to show Jinora. Smiling, Jinora took the pot from her and inspected the flowers.

"These are so lovely. I'm so proud that you grew these all by yourself. Nothing makes the place look more beautiful than your flowers. Except you of course," said Jinora, giving the pot back to Taani and bringing her hand to gently caress her daughter's cheek.

Though her face never moved, Taani nodded into her mother's hand, affirmative and appreciative.

"Now," Jinora put her hands back in her sleeves. "Have you seen your sister?"

"No," said Taani quietly, her soft voice lacking any sort of real tone.

"Alright. If you see her though, tell her I'm looking for her, okay?"

Nodding, Taani went back to her plant and Jinora left the greenhouse, sighing for the umpteenth time that day. Should she even be looking for Nima? Perhaps she should just go about her day and then talk to the child when they finally saw each other next. She _did _have other things she actually needed to be doing but-

"Oh, Jinora!"

Jinora turned around, blinking at her mother walking up to her.

"Hi, Mom," said Jinora, frowning slightly. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing _wrong _exactly," said her mother, smiling. "But I'm out of a few spices I need for tonight's dinner and it'd be wonderful if you could get them for me. "

"Sure, but uh... by any chance have you seen Nima?" asked Jinora.

"No. Sorry, honey. I haven't," said her mother regrettably. "She run off again?"

"Yes," frowned Jinora. "I know I should have stayed with her, but she's thirteen years old! I shouldn't have to _babysit _her, but it appears like I have to whenever it comes to any serious training. She already can't control her airbending very well and that's dangerous... I just wish she'd put some serious time into it without me having to be the bad guy..."

"Oh, honey. You're not the bad guy and she doesn't think you are I'm sure... Nima just..." her mother smiled tightly. "She's thirteen, but she's also a person. She has her own flaws and problems. It was like how I felt with you sometimes when I couldn't pull you away from whatever book you were reading. It drove me nuts how you couldn't even put them down at dinner. Now, it's the same thing for _your_ daughter."

"I know... it just worries me. I want her to be able to control her airbending at least well enough where her father and I can feel like she's able to defend herself. Defend herself and not _hurt_ herself in the process. Especially in the world we live in today..."

"An everyday struggle and always will be. Some days more than others, but you know that."

"I do. Guess that's what happens when your parent. Right, Mom?"

"Exactly," she said, smiling mournfully.

Jinora shared the same smile.

"So, those spices? Which ones did you need?"

-:-:-:-

Depending on the day, the food side of the market would always either give Jinora a headache or meet her nose with a pleasant aroma. Thankfully for her, cinnamon was in the air as she passed by a few particular booths dedicated to baking and sweet spices: just what she needed. Coming down there, she also realized she needed a few spices for her own family's cooking needs as well. Namely, some black pepper and even a little ginger.

She was turning the corner of a booth to the next street over, but stopped and did a double take when she laid eyes on a tall, black haired man in a police officer's suit standing near a fisherman's booth. Smiling, she walked up beside him and poked his shoulder in greeting.

Mako twisted to look beside him and nodded pleasantly at Jinora when he recognized her though he didn't smile much.

"Hey, Jinora. How's it going?"

"I'm good. You?"

"It's alright," shrugged Mako. "Just grabbing Korra's favorite fish. Figured I'd try to get home early and make it before she gets back."

"That's very sweet," said Jinora. "I'm just getting some spices for my mother. Before that though I was trying to track down Nima wherever she escaped to, but no luck. What a day, huh?"

He sighed heavily, almost tired.

"Tell me about it..."

Jinora frowned slightly.

"...what's wrong? Is everything alright?" she asked carefully, wondering if it was private police business.

He shook his head.

"Not really... just had to deliver some news to a family... you remember that girl that went missing last year? The one whose parents posted all over the city looking for her?"

Jinora's stomach dropped.

"Yeah... I do... please tell me she's not..." her voice trailed off.

Mako pursed his lips and nodded.

"They found her body a few states over abandoned in a cave. She'd been there for a while so we didn't know it was her at first, but a few of her accessories were consistent with the family's description. Even the clothes that remained. We just confirmed it this morning after a trip to the coroner's..."

"Th-that's... that's so terrible... I'm sorry for the family," she bowed her head slightly. "And for you. For having to be the one to tell them."

Mako looked away then downcast as they turned away from the fisherman's booth.

"I..." he began quietly. "I have other people who could have delivered the news, but I just _had _to do it myself... she was a runaway you know. Her family said she left a note and everything. It was why we couldn't do much legally..."

A runaway?

Jinora bit her lip as realization –and a good dose of guilt – dropped in where she swore her stomach was supposed to be.

"Tikaani... is that what Korra's doing today?"

Mako seemed to swallow hard as he nodded.

"I told her she needed to get away she was so distracted this morning. Nearly tripped over herself climbing out of bed," he said. "She needed to be outside doing something. Training or anything active. She took Naga and went up into the mountains for the day just to get out of the city..."

Jinora looked down now herself.

"I can't _believe_ I didn't realize what today was... can't believe it's already here. It's been one year since Tikaani ran away and I hadn't realized it. My _own_ student. I'm so sorry Mako, I'm terrible. Here I am walking up to you like nothing-"

"Don't be sorry, Jinora," he said, shaking his head. "I barely realized it was here until I woke up this morning. Neither me nor Korra. I... I didn't want it to be. Neither of us did. Our daughter's been gone for a whole year..."

She could hear him straining not to let the cracking in his voice show. Jinora felt her own eyes sting slightly, but blinked them away. A good part of her still felt terrible for whatever hand she may have had in Tikaani running away from home. The last time Jinora saw her, she'd had been acting funny. Like she was sad almost. To this day, Jinora wished that, as her master, she would have some something to her parents. Anything.

"Korra still feels bad you know. About the way she got mad at you," said Mako as they began to walk down the street.

"She shouldn't feel bad though," said Jinora, shaking her head too now. "She definitely had a point. If I felt like Tikaani was being a little funny I should have said something about how she may have been feeling."

"You were her confidant. Whatever Tikaani confided in you was between you two alone. You couldn't break that. We just wish we had seen it too and at the same time... how could we have not? I ask myself that every day. So does Korra. Obviously, that huge fight she had with her mother was the nail in the coffin but... yeah. Korra still feels a little bad about the way she yelled at you after Tikaani went missing."

"Well... I don't think it's much of a secret anymore, but Tikaani felt... distant from her mother to say the least," she said sadly. "An angry kind of distance that I couldn't get her to close. It was a work in progress. Or at least, that's how I felt at the time. Now, we know it was a failed work in progress."

"No, the failure was our part as parents. Korra will always dispute me on it, but the fault was mine. Here I am calling myself a cop, but I didn't see that my own daughter was so... I don't know," he sighed. "Sorry, Jinora. I didn't mean to bring you down today."

"Don't be sorry," she said, smiling slightly. "I probably was mentally putting it off hoping she'd come back and the day would never come... and now I also know why Nima's being extra difficult to find today."

"Nima too, huh? Yeah, I remember you telling me about her reaction after the fact."

She nodded.

"Yes... she tried to pretend like it never happened. It was painful to watch her do her best to ignore it. She would wait for hours on end everyday, but when Tikaani never came back after three weeks had gone by... We had to sit her down. Get her to accept it. It completely broke her heart."

"I know how it feels. Of course we were looking forever. _Every day_. But when she didn't come back on her own after a few weeks I... it felt like a failure. She wasn't coming back."

At that, she could see his jaw clench and his eyebrows knit together. They both knew what that had meant: Tikaani didn't want to be found.

Neither of them needed to speak on just how painful of a revelation that had been. That had to be the most painful form of a rejection for a master and, Jinora could hardly imagine, for a mother and a father who just wanted their daughter to come home.

They finally switched subjects, walking and talking for a little while before they finally parted ways. On the way home, Jinora felt a heaviness in her heart. As her master, Jinora _should _have been able to see where Tikaani's anger was leading to. The anger was very clear. Even today she could remember the bitter way Tikaani would speak of her mother in those final few months.

It all brought Jinora back on their days training. Tikaani's physical skills had never been a problem. She took combat very seriously and, like her mother, excelled at it. Her understanding, however, always needed a little elaboration and perhaps that's where the issue between Korra and her daughter mainly lied. Understanding.

As for her own understanding, at the time Jinora had struggled with what to do with her student. On one hand, Tikaani's feelings were always a bit complicated and did Jinora really have the right to tell Korra her personally confided feelings? Even if it was about her own daughter? On the other hand, if she _had _said something...even a hint. Maybe that would have mended their bond enough for Tikaani to stay. The sad part about it all was that she may never know.

All Jinora hoped in her heart, at least, was that Tikaani was happy and would not end up like the girl found in the cave.

At home, Jinora brought her mother the spices requested.

Thankfully, she had nothing planned for the rest of the day and she honestly just wanted a little time to reflect. After Tikaani ran away, her day felt... empty. Like one of her own children were missing. Now, that feeling was coming back again and all she wanted was a moment to put herself at peace again. Perhaps, she should have been heading to the meditation pavilion, but the waves lapping up to the shores also always calmed her. It wasn't so much meditation she felt like she needed as it was an earnest walk to get lost on.

Down to the beach she went, taking her time heading down the long steps that led to the shores of the island. She let her feet sink into the ground a little, imagining the sand absorbing away her troubled thoughts. The most troubling part about it all was that there was _nothing to do_. They'd all but exhausted their search for Tikaani. In fact, Korra and Mako _still _looked for her whenever they had time. Any measure they could exhaust they did, but Korra was the Avatar and Mako was Chief of Police. They both had duties that required them to sacrifice their own personal issues a bit and it wasn't like Tikaani just went missing. She _ran away_. She did not want to be found and Jinora found that more disheartening than anything.

If she had wanted to be found then nothing would have stopped her from coming back home.

As Jinora walked along the beach, the sun began to set on the horizon and the city moved further and further from view. She also found, however, that the closer she got to the back of the island, the more and more she could hear the faintest sounds of... music? It made her walk slightly faster just to hear better until she could hear the music loud and clear coming from a radio that sat on a small boulder embedded in the ground.

Near the radio and just out of reach from the water, a girl moved her body to the sound coming out of the radio speakers. She moved her hips and arms as if she were conversing with the beats and trembles of the music, her brown hair flying around her face. Her green eyes focused on her feet as they ground and twisted into the sand. Suddenly, into the air she went and Jinora found herself smiling proudly as she watched Nima dance with the wind like it was an instrument and a live partner all the same. Her large sheer scarf teemed around her, grasped for dear life in Nima's hand when her feet gently met the ground. The drums of the music had seemingly found their ways up her legs and were controlling the rhythm of her torso in the strangest natural fashion.

Jinora smiled and walked closer. As she did, the music ended and now Nima turned around ,apparently having sensed someone near.

"Oh... hi, Mom," she grinned sheepishly. "So, uh, how's it going?"

"Just fine," said Jinora, putting her hands in her sleeves. "However, I would have been a lot better if you'd been at the training circle like I asked you to be. Don't you think?'

"Yeah... sorry about that. I was just really... not into it?" she said, rubbing the back of her head. "You know I had every intention to, but then I felt like the beach was calling me and you know. Had to listen. Spiritual calling, Mom. You know."

"Mm-hm," said Jinora, raising an eyebrow. "Sweetheart, you know I love your dancing and I always have, but you couldn't have told me about this _calling_ of yours? Or told it to wait a second so you could train for at least an hour?"

"um... no...? I, uh, I don't know, Mom. I wasn't feeling it. Can't I-"

"It's fine," Jinora finally sighed and walked over to a nearby boulder to sit on. "I'll excuse it for today."

Nima blinked.

"Really?" she asked, taking a seat next to her mother. "You will?"

"For today. You were especially difficult to find this time. Normally, you just go to the kitchen... this time you seemed to want to get away to somewhere pretty far. Almost like you were avoiding something."

"Oh..." Nima looked away towards the horizon."I just wanted some fresh air. That's all."

"All the way down here, huh? Away from anywhere someone else might be training?"

"Well, yeah. I always come down to the beach for dance practice though."

Jinora inwardly sighed. She couldn't _make _her say it, but...

"...sweetie?"

"Yeah, mom?"

"Does..." she started slowly. "you running off today have more to do with missing Tikaani than you avoiding tra-"

"Oh, Mom, I just remembered," Nima chirped suddenly, beaming at her mother. "I never asked you what's for dinner? I'm starved and it's about that time, right?"

Jinora didn't say anything at first. Finally, she stood up, pulling her daughter's hand with her.

"We're eating with Grandma and Grandpa today. Why don't we go see?"

-:-:-:-

"Is it terrible that I go on with my day? Like nothing?"

That night, Jinora lay rolled into her husband, the rising and falling of his chest nearly putting her to sleep. His hand was running through her long hair, his fingers going through it all the way down to her waist.

"Of course not," said Kai, shifting so that his lips was against her head. "Tikaani wasn't kidnapped or anything like that. She _left home_. All on her own. As sad as it is, this is exactly what she wanted."

"I just... I really hate this though," she half mumbled into his neck. "It feels like I should be out looking for her right this instant. Of course, I can't and what good would it do anyway, but I'm her_ master_. Or I _was _at least."

"I know you feel responsible, but you're only human, Jinora," he sighed, rubbing his hand up and down her arm. "She made a choice and we have to respect that. You know that. I hate seeing you beat yourself up over it."

"But that's it? That's all there is to it? She made a choice to run away and we're supposed to accept it?"

Part of her felt like this should be the reverse. He should be the one saying these things and she should be the one counseling him on it, but she supposed that always depended on the topic. If anyone understood what the need to run away felt like it was Kai. This time, she needed _his _counsel to put her to sleep.

"C'mon, sweetheart. You know the answer to that," he whispered.

Jinora felt the corner of her eye well up as a tear leaked out. Apparently, he felt it drop onto his skin because he held her tighter now, one hand wrapped around her back and the other bringing it's thumb to caress her cheek.

"I miss her," she whispered back. "And so does Nima. A lot. Completely dodged the question when I tried to bring it up. That's nothing new, but... she feels lonely. I can tell no matter how much she tries to hide it. She's really feeling it and her dancing can only keep her so busy. Rama and Taani miss having her around. Bolin and Opal said their kids miss her too. Nuka and his sister didn't get along much in the last few years, but I know he still would like to make things right with her. Spirits, then there's Korra and Mako... both of them practically take care of the city trying to keep it safe from, well, _everything_. Haven't they suffered enough?"

He didn't answer this time and just continued to hold her. They both knew there was nothing he _could _say that she didn't already know. Life was unfair.

Too unfair, she thought stubbornly. They don't deserve this. _Nobody_ deserved to be in this situation.

"I miss her too, honey," whispered Kai, kissing her head. "Honestly, I doubt it was a decision she made with any kind of joy. If she misses us, I'm sure we'll see each other again. In fact, I'm certain of it."

Jinora shifted her head to look up at him.

"How can you be so sure?" she asked quietly.

"Because she's family and family has a way of finding each other. You found me and look where I'm at now. Guess it just makes me have faith is all. That is, that they can find each other again."

"Have faith," she repeated, savoring the words on her tongue. "Guess there's not much else we can do is there?"

He smiled at her.

"That's half the point of faith, isn't it?"

"Very true," she yawned, feeling herself drift off. "G'night, sweetheart. I love you."

"I love you too," he shifted around so she was spooned into him. "Night."

They drifted off to sleep at that point, enveloped in the other's comforting embrace.

Jinora wasn't sure how much time had passed, but it was still dark when she felt Kai shake her awake. Startled and no longer feeling him around her, she sat up and threw one leg out of the bed.

"C'mon, we have to get up."

Kai was throwing on his clothes now, his hair a complete mess and looking rather disheveled.

"W-what is it? What's wro-"

She stopped.

Now, she could hear them.

A loud, whooping sound coming from outside and echoing above the island. She looked at him half-incredulous, half-concerned.

"Are those the _emergency sirens?_"

* * *

As the emergency sirens indicate, it's about to go down.

Meet Nima, Rama and Taani! Kai and Jinora's three children. If you don't already follow me on tumblr then these guys are probably new to you. Like the chapter says, it's been nine years since the events of chapters one and two and, since then, much has happened. Rama and Taani were born when Nima was five (so the following year after the events of chapter two) and, more recently, Tikaani, has since run away from home. This chapter was very transitionary, but it was still pretty important introducing some of the family dynamics that you're going to get a peak of in this fic.

As for Kai, Jinora and their kids, they all have their own very much active rp blogs on tumblr at nimagyatso and gyatsotwins where you can get to know them better and interact with them. Also newly mentioned is Naoka Beifong, Bolin and Opal's son who's the same age as Rama and Rama's best friend.

Head on over to my tumblr blogs, nimagyatso, gyatsotwins and my personal blog, kuno-chan, for more info!

Okay, as always, I really, really appreciate it when you guys leave those reviews! As a next generation fic these kinds of fics can get really hard to promote and every word you guys leave for me in the review box gets read and means a whole lot. They help me write the fic and motivate me to keep going!

Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


	4. Jinora: Out of the Blue

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

* * *

**Jinora: Out of the Blue  
**

* * *

Jinora couldn't have gotten out of bed fast enough. As she threw the covers off and snatched on her nearby robe, all her thoughts narrowed on the three rooms down the hall from hers.

"Kids!" she called, tying the robe around her and feeling Kai right on her heels as she dashed out their bedroom. "Nima! Rama! Taani!"

Nima beat her to it and was already out of her room, grabbing Rama from his. Both of them looked and sounded like they'd sprung out of bed as fast she Jinora did.

"Mom, what's going on? Why're the sirens going off? What's everybody yelling about outside?"

"I don't know, but time to go. Where's your sister?"

"Jinora!"

Kai had scurried past her into Taani's room and Jinora's heart made a very sharp drop when he came out with no Taani.

"She's not here," he said, looking as fearful as she felt.

"What do you mean she's not there?" she asked incredulously. "Where the- _Where is she?_"

"The noise probably scared her. The sirens and the people yelling-" began Rama, his voice small from his place next to Nima. He looked like he wanted to panic, but stuck like glue to Nima's side, her hands firm on his shoulders.

Kai rubbed his face brusquely.

"All the noise made her panic-"

"-and she went out the _window_," Jinora finished his sentenced and peaked into Taani's room. Just as she feared, the window was left ajar in the dark. She went up to the window and pushed it open.

"Taani!" she called. "Taani!_ Sweetie, are you there?_"

When no little girl popped up, Jinora could have leapt out of the window to look for her daughter in the trickling crowd of people.

"Jinora we have to go," he gently grabbed her arm and pulled her away from the window. "She probably went to the greenhouse to hide."

He was being very abrupt, but Jinora understood him perfectly. Nima and Rama needed to get to the temple basement for safety. Only spirits knew why the emergency sirens were going off in the middle of the night, but whatever the case it could not be good at all. They needed to look for their youngest daughter in the midst of the chaos. Nodding in agreement, she walked away from the window and left the room.

Kai ushered the kids down the hall where they could all leave the building.

"Come on. You two need to get to the temple basement. You'll be safe there," he said.

"What about Taani?" asked Rama, clearly worried

"We're going to get your sister, son, but you two need to be _safe_ so we can worry about that, okay?" said Kai, pulling on Rama's hand.

Reluctantly, Rama nodded.

Out the building and into the open they went, people all scurrying in different directions. Nima looked around, biting her lip and looking like the sky might fall apart any second.

"Mom-"

"I know, sweetie," said Jinora, trying to sound soothing. She squeezed her daughter's hand briefly, but kept an eye out. Something wasn't right. These people were _running _from something. Was it a something or a some-

A dart of ice flew past Jinora's head, taking strands of her long hair with it. In a reflex, she twisted around, her leg cocked out. She brought her fists together in a circular motion, a shield of air being summoned where her arms met. Several darts flew out of the way as they met her air currents, but she didn't wait to find out if anything else was coming. In one fluid motion, she brought her torso back, her arms going with it, and thrust her whole upper body forward to release a powerful gust of air.

She could see her target roll out of the way in the dark, but Kai pulled up the rear and released another gust of wind with a roundhouse kick. This time, the longer range of the blast hit and their apparent waterbender flew back, hitting a tree. Jinora only took a quick look at them before pushing her children forward.

"Go! Go right now!" she cried at them. Neither of them hesitated and Nima grabbed Rama's hand this time, running ahead with him. Kai beside her, Jinora followed closely seeing the temple in view. As they got to the temple, she could see her father standing on top of the tall set of stairs ushering people inside where they could reach the basement.

"Dad!" called Jinora.

Her father looked down at them, in a similar disheveled state himself and even his beard left mildly uncombed. When they finally climbed the stairs and reached him, Tenzin's eyebrows furrowed together at the sight of only two of their children with them.

"You haven't seen Taani, have you?" she asked, the rattling in her chest rising at the look on his face.

"She's not with you?" he asked, frowning. "What happened?"

"The noise," said Kai, shaking his head. "All the people yelling probably scared her off. We need to go find her-"

"Say no more. I'll take these two. Your mother's already in the basement with everyone else. As soon as I get as many people in I'll need to go check the others to make sure everyone's safe. We've got them. You two just go."

The three of them shared a curt nod. They wouldn't say anything about what was happening - especially with the children with them - and incite futther panic among the people. However, they were certain that there were probably other fights between airbenders and whoever was _invading _from the look of things all over the island. As they were about to leave, Nima reached out, grabbing her father's arm.

"Mom, Dad-"

"We're going to be fine, sweetie," said Kai, pulling her and Rama into a quick hug. Jinora swiftly kissed both of them on the forehead as well.

"Promise? Taani too?" asked Rama.

"Of course. Nothing's going to happen to us or your sister. We have to go find her now though. Okay? Go inside and see Grandma," she said, trying to keep her voice calm.

The two let go and did as they were told, disappearing into the building with everyone else. Without another word, Kai and Jinora ran off as carefully as possible. Their earlier assailant had been dressed in black, covering their hair and the bottom half of their face. Whoever these people were obviously didn't want to be seen. Yet, they were outright attacking people. That made another red flag go off in Jinora's head. What if there was someone among the crowd of people being steered to safety? There was no way to know, but she had to trust the airbenders who were most definitely down there helping.

As they reached the bottom of the stairs and into the open, she could finally see that they were definitely being invaded. To their left, the training circle had turned into a small battlefield. With no hesitation in their step, the two of them rushed forward.

"Uncle Bumi! Meelo!" called Jinora.

Neither her brother nor her uncle heard them, Meelo himself too focused on a rather slippery firebender he was going toe to toe with. The firebender rolled, coming back with a handful of flames for Meelo, but he twirled around and met the flames with a deflecting wall of air from his palm.

At the center of the conflict, her uncle was fending off multiple opponents. He sent swirls of air to bat at several of them at once. Completely focused, into the air he went and propelled himself out of the circle of foes. He landed with purposeful impact, sending a few of his opponents flying as they met a strong blow of wind.

Joining the fray, Jinora rushed to her brother's side. She circled her hands around each other and hurled a large ball of air at the firebender. Seemingly anticipating this, the firebender jilted to the side, their feet pacing around to circle her. In tandem, Jinora moved as well, the two circling each other now.

"Jinora, you know who these guys are?" her brother asked, coming to move right next to her.

"I have no idea, but I don't have time for this. Kai and I need to go find Taani," she said, gritting her teeth. She kept having to force herself to look at her opponents waist, torso and face instead of the movement of their feet.

"What?" he asked, mildly surprised though he never took his eyes off their opponent.

"She probably panicked and ran off. You go help Uncle Bumi and Kai. I've got this."

Meelo moved one of his feet out of rhythm to dash off.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, they're really ganging up on him over there. Hurry!"

In a spring, Meelo dashed off and threw himself into the fight on the other side of the circle. Meanwhile, the firebender never stepped out of rhythm. In turn, Jinora never said a word. No taunting, no challenging. She was fighting a firebender wearing black in the dark. On one hand, she wanted to know who was attacking them. On the other hand, it hardly mattered and all she wanted to do was to incapacitate these people and go find her daughter.

Jinora couldn't see the firbender's eyes this far away, but something told her this person was going to move and, just as she predicted, they hurled a fireball at her feet. Backing up, she protected herself with a blast of air at the fireball. The fireball met her air with an small explosion from the two elements meeting, but she didn't stop to watch. Her opponent charged straight for her and Jinora stepped to the side, circling behind them. Without stopping, the firebender twisted on the ball of their toes, fire rushing after their feet and ready to hit Jinora right in the face like a whip. Pushing her palms forward, she thrust a wall of air at them, sending both foe and flames away. Still, the firebender came back, hitting the ground with a slap and rolling right back onto their feet. Not a second to wait, they pushed off to meet Jinora head first.

Jinora herself pushed off into a jump, bringing her fists together and landing on a large ball of air. She surfed the air scooter around the firebender, making circular motions with her arms and ready to trap them in a vortex. The firebender didn't relent and shot a blast of fire ahead of the scooter. Realizing what they were doing, Jinora leaped off the scooter as calm as can be. As she did, the air scooter became a large fire ball before it had time to dissipate and the firebender nearly hurtled it at Jinora. Instead, however, they took the flames and brought it across the ground between them.

The two stood across from one another, each on one side of the flames. Jinora didn't have to be a firebender to know what message her opponent was sending her: 'fight me and you'll burn'.

But the only fear in her heart was for that of her children, her husband and the rest of her family and friends. Unperturbed, Jinora launched herself into the air right over the flames. The firebender shot flame after flame into the air at her, but she came back down with wind from her palms dissipating the flames as they flew at her. Realizing this wasn't working, the firebender sidestepped again, but by now Jinora had already landed and they were thrown off balance by her air loaded impact with the ground. With a final determination, she took that opportunity and brought her leg around in an air sweep. This time, the firebender was thrown back.

Though they were thrown back, the firebender got up without hesitation. This time, however, they were joined by two other persons. On the left, the bender lifted a slab of nearby rock and on the right, the new challenger wielded a water whip. Preparing for the next round, Jinora conjured a ball of air between her arms.

As quickly as they'd armed themselves, the firebender turned and fled. Confused, Jinora still never took her eyes off her last two opponents. The waterbender released a few darts, but they went clear past her. Even the earthbender threw pieces of their rock slab, but missed her by a yard. Now, she heard it and just as she turned her head for a moment, a large eel hound came riding up beside her. It's rider, a young man clad in dark blue with long hair and amber eyes, turned the eel hound around and the hound swung it's large tail at the assailants. It landed a hit and the two benders were thrown against the trunk of a tree.

"Nuka?" panted Jinora, surprised to see him. "You're here too?"

"Hey, Aunt Jinora," grinned Nuka, letting out breath. He looked around."Yep, Mom and Dad got the distress notice and here we are. We just got here, but what the flameo is going on?"

Looking around as well, Jinora could see Korra on the other side of the fight, waterbending someone into the air from her saddle on Naga. Nearby, Mako was throwing firebending punches at someone trying to drag her from her saddle.

"I have no idea, but have you seen Taani?" she asked, her mind going back to her original focus.

"No, she's not with you?" he asked, his face faltering.

"She ran off from all the noise we think. We _have _to go find her now. Kai thinks she probably went to the greenhouse, but I'm not sure how many of these people are around."

"You and Uncle Kai go. We can wrangle with these guys. Naga and Kanane here are two fighters all on their own" nodded Nuka, patting his panting eel hound. "We've got this covered."

"Are you sure you're going to be okay though?"

Just then, a chunk of rock flew past Nuka's head. In an instant, Kanane turned around and leaped in that direction.

"Better than okay!" he called. "Don't worry! We got this!"

With that, Jinora narrowed her focus again. She went around, running past the fight and only stopped when she caught sight of her husband in the fray.

"Kai!"

He finished pushing an opponent away with air from his palms and looked over at her, glancing over his shoulder every few seconds.

"We have to go find Taani _now,_" she called.

"Go do whatever you have to do!" Korra jumped off Naga and charged at an earthbender aiming sharp rocks at Nuka and Mako. "We've got this under _control!_"

Still looking over his shoulder just in case, Kai nodded, running off to join Jinora. On their way to the greenhouse, they witnessed several battles between airbenders, other benders and, to Jinora's surprise, the occasional chi-blocker. Knowing just how much trouble chi-blockers could be, they tried to make any helpful interventions wherever they could. Thankfully, when they arrived at the greenhouse there were no enemies in sight.

"Taani?" called Kai as they burst in, "Sweetie, are you in here? Taani!"

"Please be in here, please be in here..." Jinora kept muttering to herself as she passed by tall rows of flowers and vegetables. She got to a row of flowers near the back of the garden and let out an audible sigh of relief when her little girl was, in fact, sitting next to a flower pot, knees up to her chest and hands over her ears.

Taani's blank eyes flicked up. Her face hardly looked scared or showed any emotion at all, but Jinora knew far better than that and got down on her knees, pulling Taani into a hug. Immediately, Taani clutched onto her and Jinora took a moment to rub her back before she pulled away.

"Okay, sweetie. We have to go, alright? I know it's really scary for you right now, but I promise Daddy and I are right here," she pulled Taani onto her feet. "Just stay close to us, understand?"

Without hesitation, Taani nodded. Though fear didn't come through on her flat expression, her hand squeezed Jinora's.

Her daughter's hand tight in her own, Jinora pulled Taani along now.

"Jinora, you found her?" she heard Kai nearby.

"Right here, I've got her!" she called back.

They nearly ran into each other turning a corner and Kai pulled Taani into a quick hug.

"Thank the spirits," he said, kissing the top of her head. He pulled back. "Okay, time to go. We need to get you to the temple basement right now."

Jinora held Taani close as they made their way back to the temple, Kai offering no reluctance on anyone who even looked like they might try something. They finally got to the temple, urging Taani to climb the tall stairs ever faster. Inside, they led her down into the basement where a large group of people had been packed and they were talking urgently between each other.

"Taani!" Nima, having spotted them, squeezed her way between people. Rama's hand in hers, she and her brother launched themselves at Taani and held her tight. "We were so worried about you! Are you okay?"

"Yeah, you're not hurt, right?" asked Rama eagerly.

Taani shook her head and patted Nima's back. Pulling back, the twins moved away, more comfortable now that they were with each other.

"You three stay here, okay? Your father and I will be back. We need to go up and help," said Jinora.

They barely started turning when Nima stepped forward.

"Wait! I'll come with you! I can help-"

"Absolutely not," Kai cut across her. "You stay here where it's _safe, _Nima. Your mother and I will be fine and a lot less worried if you're down here."

Nima frowned.

"But I can _help_-"

"This isn't a discussion. You stay here, understood?" interrupted Jinora.

Obviously trying to suppress a scowl, Nima looked away.

That didn't satisfy Jinora. She had to be _sure _that her daughter would stay exactly where she was supposed to this time.

"_Nima, do you understand me?_"

Nima looked back now, eyebrows knitted together.

"Yes..."

"Okay..." said Jinora more gently as she and Kai turned to leave. "We'll be fine and come back for you as soon as this is over. We promise."

With that, they left the basement and exited the temple in a hurry. Outside, there was still fighting going on and out of the corner of her eye, Jinora spotted Opal and Bolin fighting a couple enemy airbenders.

Bolin raised a large chunk of earth with a stomp of his foot and sent pieces of it flying punch by punch. Beside him, Opal spun as she dodged blasts of air, releasing her own with every full spin. One of the airbenders caught a gust Opal threw at them, knocking them to the ground. Meanwhile, Bolin sent half his piece of earth flying, breaking a nearby lamp and the last one actually landing a hit on the remaining airbender who too was knocked away.

"Man, Tenzin is gonna _kill _me for that!" whined Bolin.

"Opal! Bolin!" called Jinora as she and Kai ran up to them.

"Hey," panted Opal. "You guys alright?"

"Just fine," said Kai. "What about you two? Kids safe?"

"They're safe at home with Suna in charge," nodded Bolin. "But these guys won't quit. They just keep _coming_. You guys have any idea what the heck is going on around here?"

"Not a clue," Jinora shook her head.

"Well, we might not have to deal with them much longer. Look!" cried Opal, pointing up.

Floating above the island, a decently sized airship with a gear logo on the side moved across the sky. Even in the dark, with all the lights around the airship you could easily see a ladder descending to the ground.

"Oh, that's awesome," sighed Bolin, a grin on his face. "Asami's brought reinforcements."

Just as he'd claimed, men and women suited up were sliding down the ladder and Jinora easily recognized them in their copper red accented uniforms as Asami's Future Industries security detail. No doubt, Asami had come and brought the the cavalry.

"We should go. It looks like most of the fighting is taking place over there," said Jinora.

The other three chimed in agreement and they raced back to the training circle where the open field had erupted into what looked like a full scale battle. Ikki and Rohan were fighting back to back, almost looking as if they were playing tit for tat with their ring of opponents. One of the fighters, a metalbender apparently, caught Ikki by the leg with what resembled a handcuff and dragged her off her feet. Her back had just met the ground when her attacker was knocked over the head with a decent sized rock, Huan quickly going over to help his wife back up.

"Thanks, but Huan, _please _go back inside. Just go back inside with Cho and Shang," pleaded Ikki, clearly worried, but not taking her eyes off their opponents.

"I'm not going anywhere," he said curtly.

"But you're not a fighter!"

"In case you hadn't noticed, I kind of have to be right now!" he stomped his foot and cracked the earth beneath one of their attackers, leaving an opening that Rohan took to send a good air swipe at them with his staff.

Frowning, she quit arguing with her husband and went back to focusing her attention on dodging and fighting back.

Without another word, Opal dashed off to help them out, Bolin right behind her. All of them knew that if Huan Beifong was forced into being involved then this fight was getting ugly fast. Down the way, Jinora could see her father fighting side to side with Mako and an apparently recently arrived Lin Beifong. The police officers Mako had brought along and Asami's security detail were mixed in the fight as well, Asami herself having just used her glove to electrocute a chi blocker trying to get at Korra and Nuka from behind.

"This is getting out of hand," said Jinora, looking over at Kai.

"I know..." he said, frowning worriedly at her."Let's get in there."

Nodding, Jinora moved forward and immediately spotted a group of enemies fending off a group Meelo was leading. Seeing her opportunity, she circled her arms around and concentrated her air currents around the enemy group, trapping them in a vortex.

"When I let go, let them have it!" she told Kai as he ran off to be with Meelo and his group.

From her position, she could see Kai relay the message to Meelo and, after a moment, they gave her the thumbs up. She let the vortex dissipate and their opponents were hit with a barrage of airbending. Moving on, she spotted Ikki again, but she'd been pushed back and isolated from anybody else. Her new opponent, a chi-blocker, crouched down and pushed forward. They pressed their knuckles up and under her arm in a series of jabs and her arm went limp. Before she could turn around to counterattack, the chi-blocker had brought out a knife, slashing her under her and up into her chest.

She yelped, kicking herself away and grabbing onto her side, her face screwed up in pain. Jinora's eyes widened and she raced off before she even knew her feet were moving.

"_Ikki!_"

Without so much as a second thought, she came flying in with a powerful air blast. She knocked the chi-blocker against a boulder only to come back with another air blast from her opposite hand.

Looking over her shoulder to make sure they didn't get up, she quickly went to Ikki's side and tried to help her on her feet.

"We need to get you to a healer right now," she said, supporting her sister's weight with an arm over her shoulder.

Ikki shook her head.

"No! I'm fine, I have to stay!"

Free from their assailants for the moment, Huan quickly came over and took her from Jinora.

"Ikki, you're _bleeding!_ It's seeping through your clothes! You need a healer _now_!" argued Jinora.

"No," protested Ikki. "I can _stay. _Huan-"

"If I take you away then I'll be away from the fighting," he said, trying to bargain with her. "You're bleeding way to much to be out here. Come on, we need to go before it gets worse."

At the prospect of Huan getting off the field, Ikki nodded reluctantly. Jinora waded behind them in defense as they maneuvered away from the training circle. When they got inside of the nearest temple, Huan put Ikki down on the closest surface and took off his shirt.

"This is going to hurt a little," he said, focused yet gentle.

"It's fine," she said.

He wadded up his shirt and pressed it up under her arm. Biting her lip, she obviously tried not to yelp again.

"Now, hold you arm there," he said.

"I'll go see if there's a healer in the basement," said Jinora.

She tore herself away from her sister, doing her best to keep her mind off the worst case scenario. Down into the basement she went, looking around at the group of people talking amongst each other.

"Is there a healder down here?" she called urgently. "I need a healer right now if there is one!"

Immediately, a salt and pepper haired middle aged woman raised her hand near the back of the group.

"My sister's hurt and she's bleeding bad," Jinora gestured for the woman to follow her. "Please."

The woman pushed her way through the crowd, the calm but no nonsense face of a medical professional on her face. Wordlessly, she followed Jinora up and immediately moved to Ikki's side where Huan was watching over her.

She carefully moved Huan's shirt and inspected the wound through the cut that had been made in Ikki's pajamas.

"I need water, alcohol, bandages needle and thread stat. Towels if you can find them as well. This needs to get closed up as soon as possible."

"I'll go get the needle and thread," said Huan, running off without waiting for a response.

"I've got everything else," said Jinora, turning to leave.

Nearly an hour later, though her shirt was bloody, Ikki's wound had been stitched up neatly. Sighing in relief, Huan pulled her toward him and kissed her temple.

"I'm fine..." she said weakly, a tired smile on her face.

"I can see that," he said, not taking his lips away from her temple. "Still."

"I'm going to go outside and see how things are going," said Jinora quietly. "You all should get back in the basement."

Ikki nodded.

"Careful..."

"I will," Jinora smiled at her.

With another nod to her, Huan scooped Ikki up and followed the healer back down into the basement. Jinora left and found her way back to the training circle where she could see all the people she knew getting themselves together, but no more fighting.

"There you are!" Kai walked up when he spotted her, embracing her. "I got worried when I couldn't see you."

"I'm fine. Ikki was the one who got hurt, but she's okay," she said, hugging him back. "A healer stitched her up and Huan took her to safety. What happened here though? Where'd they all go? And is anybody else hurt?"

"Some bumps, bruises, a few scratches and your dad has a backache now, but everyone's otherwise fine. Whoever those people were just kind of... well, they ran off."

"All at once? To _where? _They had to be after something after all this. Why would they just run off suddenly?"

"Great question," Korra walked up near them, frowning. "We can ask _him _perhaps."

Over Korra's shoulder, Jinora recognized the chi-blocker who'd hurt Ikki. Still unconscious and still sitting up against the boulder, Meelo and her uncle were tying him up as they spoke. Looking around, everyone looked more or less okay just as Kai had said. Aside from Asami's security detail and Mako's officers in the mix, Asami looked as if someone hand yanked her hair rather hard and Nuka was sitting against a tree panting nearly as hard as Kanane and Naga sitting next to him. Across the field, Rohan and Opal were helping Bolin onto his feet, her father was talking to Lin, rubbing his back with one hand and Mako, walking into the center of the field, was bruised near the side of his lip.

"_Okay!_" he said above everyone, his voice booming so they could all hear him. _"We need to do a sweep of the island and make sure there's none of those guys left hiding out! My squadron, sweep this ground for evidence __**immediately! **__Everyone else, move out! We can't let anyone out of those basements until we're sure it's safe and clear!"_

"I'll see you guys in a second," said Korra, frowning and eyebrows furrowed, seemingly thinking real hard. When she walked over to talk to Mako, Asami and Bolin, Jinora turned to Kai.

"Let's go. The sooner this gets done, the sooner we can get back to the kids."

Kai grabbed her hand and squeezed it lightly. Jinora winced and hissed a little, realizing she hadn't noticed a rather stinging cut across her palm. Mildly surprised, Kai pulled back his hand a little.

"Sorry, sweetheart," he said, smiling apologetically.

As he pulled back, Jinora grabbed onto his hand again mid-retraction.

"No," she shook her head, squeezing his hand tighter this time. She tried to keep the quiver out of her voice. "I'm glad you're the one that made me notice it."

Hell everyone!

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This chapter set off with a bang and then the battle just ended so suddenly. Fishy fishy. This chapter marks the appearance of several character including Nuka all grown up (he's 17 here), Ikki Huan, Bolin and Opal as well. Also mentioned are Ikki and Huan's children Cho and Shang. I actually quite enjoyed writign all the action in this chapter and I wanted Jinora to have the spotlight for a moment fighting that firebender. Though this chapter turned into a family event too with Nuka fighting alonside both his parents. I actually didn't intend for so many people to get involved, but it just made sense to add certain people and I'm glad I did ^_^

Well, not much to say here. I don't want to spoil anything this early in the game. You're going to have to read about the aftermath and where this is all leading to next chapter!

As always, I really loe it when you guys drop those reviews! Getting those notices that I have a new review, even if it's just you pointing something out or wanting to give some constructive criticism, really encourages me to keep writing and keep going! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


	5. Nuka: Work to Do

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

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**Nuka: Work to Do  
**

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"No, I want to know how they got past the _fucking military- _No, no, no, don't _see here _me! I'm the _Chief of the Republic City Police Department!_ I have a city full of millions to protect! I mean, really? Submarines? How the _flameo fuck _do you get submarines past the military? You're supposed to have all kinds of guard out there especially for this problem! Now, don't call me again until you have serious information about how these guys got past _your _military, _Admiral_."

Nuka's father slammed down the phone. Standing by the entrance to his father's study, he carefully knocked on the open door.

"Hey, Dad... uh, need any help?" he asked.

His father sighed heavily, shifting through papers on his desk.

"Lots. None of this is making sense at all... Spirits, I miss conversing with Admiral Iroh instead. See, he used to make actual sense when he was leading the Navy. President Dao can't be bothered with any of it right now apparently. She has _public damage control_ to take care of, but all I've been hearing her spew on about is how _she _has everything under control. _Herself_ that is. Never mind that I lead one of the chief forces that protects this city. No need to talk to me at all, oh no. Plus, she absolutely _demanded_ to see your mother and you know how your mother is about being ordered around like a political henchman. I have no doubt in my mind they're having _words _right about now," his father continued to rattle off, eyebrows knitted in concentration. He half scoffed, half grunted.

"How Dao got re-elected after she already lost her second re-election I'll _never_ know – frankly, I already miss President Sui. She actually knew how to run a government - but I guess third time's the charm or whatever. Either way, I shouldn't be the one spitting fire with the Admiral. He's just as frustrated and how is it that _I'm _the only official he can get a hold of?"

Nuka listened to his father and frowned. He'd grown up around this kind of stuff all his life, but even to this day he really had no savvy for political talks. Or rather, no interest. As he saw it, it was a lot of arm twisting and cajoling this and hashing out that. Moreover, his mother wasn't into politics all that much either, but she was usually forced to deal with it. Same with his father. There were times he simply wanted to take them both away and send them on a vacation, but he supposed that was what happened when you were the Avatar and the Chief of Police. Politics were just in your job description. Sometimes, he wondered how he saw either of them at all.

"I know you're swamped right now, but maybe you need a break. Mom left you some rice and I made some eggs if you wanna eat. You can only keep staring at that stuff for so long," said Nuka, cracking a sympathetic smile.

"Tell me about it. Unfortunately it's my job."

"Then talk to me about it while you eat. Make sense of it?"

His father looked up, seemingly considering the offer.

"...alright. That kills two birds with one stone. Haven't eaten since breakfast anyway," said his father, getting up and walking around his desk to follow Nuka.

Walking side by side, Nuka obviously looked exactly like his mother. He was almost known for it. His hair was long and two large locks were clasped – two clasps on his left and one on his right – like most traditional water tribe hairstyles went. However, it was easy to guess who his father was too. He, like his sister, had his father's amber eyes and his skin was a couple shades lighter than his mother's thanks to his father's fairer skin. At seventeen years old, he was nearly as tall as his father as well.

Thinking back on the night before, Nuka found himself mildly confused also. For a battle that started with such a bang, he remembered how starkly unglamorous the aftermath had been. He didn't know what set them off, but one of the masked fighters must have set some kind of a signal and the rest of them left in droves. Nuka actually followed them on Kanane, originally determined not to let them escape, but his mother calling his name made him fall back a little. Still, after catching his breath, he waded down to the beach on Kanane's back. The overlapping footprints leading into the water puzzled him until his father mentioned that's probably why they had so many waterbenders: make-shift submarines. A tactic from the Day of Black Sun Invasion and a smart one at that considering their target.

While everyone had been picking themselves up that night, Nuka slid of his eel hound's back and walked over to his Aunt Asami nearby.

"Genji isn't here, is he?" he asked. "Didn't see him, but I wanted to make sure."

She shook her head, wiping a little blood from the corner of her mouth and brushing her hair out of her face.

"No," she said, smiling slightly. "I made sure he stayed home. He _wanted _to come, but that's not going to happen on either mine or your Aunt Ginger's watch."

"I figured," he said, putting a hand on his hip. "But you know. He knows how to fight."

"In the streets," said his aunt, frowning. "But these are against trained benders and I wasn't even sure what we were up against so it was best for him to stay. Not that he didn't try to sneak onto the airship of course."

"I suppose," he said with a lazy smile, arms crossed.

"You'll understand someday," said his aunt, putting an arm on his to turn him around. "Now, let's go see your Dad. I want to know what we're going to do with the one who was left behind."

"Oh yeah," he said, uncrossing his arms and turning to walk with her. "Do you think they'll interrogate him?"

"No doubt," she said. "He was just a part of an attack on what's essentially the airbending capitol of the world. He's definitely going to be facing some serious crimes too."

"...do you think Mom and Dad will let me be there?" he asked. "For the interrogation? I know that sounds weird. I don't want to see him get hurt or anything if they're even going to do that, but I want to hear what he has to say."

That was honestly the truth. He _didn't _want to see anybody get hurt, but he also wondered if they would even go that far. Whatever the case, he couldn't help but take this personally. The people on Air Temple Island were his _family_. His aunts and uncles, their kids basically being his brothers and sisters. It was hard to think about the fact that they could have gotten seriously injured.

They'd all been put in harm's way and he wanted to know _why. _

She raised her brows at him slightly.

"No, sorry sweetie. That's not in the cards. You're only seventeen and I'm sure your mom and dad probably weren't even that thrilled with you in this fight... were they?"

That made him smile a little and he looked away trying to hide it.

"Don't look like that," said his father as they walked up. "I heard that. No, we weren't happy, but we were in a rush and you _insisted _on coming-"

"-and he gets all -" began Nuka.

"He gets all '_you know what? You're just like your mother_'." His mother walked up now too, laughing a little despite the situation. Her imitation of his father made Nuka grin right with her."I'm sorry, hon, but that's really how you sound sometimes."

"What? No I don- _I do not!_"

"You're doing it right now," she said, smirking.

"Yeah, doing it right now, Dad," said Nuka, copying his mother with his arms over his chest.

His father just stared at them both and let out a huge sigh.

"_Anyway._" He rolled his eyes, then looked more seriously at his wife. "Me and my people will be taking him off to the station. The United Forces are probably going to want to get their hands on him too, but until then we're going to try and squeeze what we can get out of him. You coming?"

"Of course." His mother nodded, a more serious demeanor taking over. It was times like these that Nuka wanted to ask all kinds of questions, but they usually were batting away with theses conversations at speeds he could barely understand. "We need to get as much information about who these guys were and fast. I want to get some answers before we have to start dancing with everybody in city hall who has a nice title and a fancy office."

"And my people will go wherever I go. We'll stay here and help Tenzin get things under control," said his Aunt Asami, looking as no-nonsense as the rest of them. "That way, Mako, you can take what forces you need and maybe get a double patrol going around the city. "

"That's just what I was thinking," nodded his father affirmatively. "We need to lock down this harbor too. They may have come in submarines, but who knows what's going on around here? Nobody gets in or out until we can straighten this out. By the way, thanks for the back up."

"Yeah," said his mother, uncrossing her arms. "Thanks a million, Asami. You really came through with the reinforcements."

"Hey, when Team Avatar comes calling," said his aunt, shrugging with a smile. "Speaking of which, where's Bolin?"

"Here," said his Uncle Bolin as if on cue, stumbling up to them with Nuka's Aunt Opal supporting his weight with an arm over her shoulder. "I'm here, I'm here and I'm in one piece."

Aunt Asami frowned worriedly.

"You sure?"

"Yeah, I just got knocked off my feet and hit the ground kind of hard," he said, taking his arm off his wife and straightening out.

Nuka grinned and gently patted his uncle's shoulder.

"Uncle Bo, I think you're just getting old," he laughed.

"You better believe I am!" scoffed his uncle. "I've got six kids! I'm surprised my whole head hasn't gone grey yet!"

Nuka's father made a face.

"Bo. You're forty-one. You're not _that _old," he said.

His uncle made a face right back.

"I repeat, I have _six _children. I love all of them, but having six of them accelerates the aging process. Except for Opal of course. She doesn't look a day over thirty."

Aunt Opal raised an eyebrow at him, nudging him gingerly.

"Nice save."

"I didn't get this old otherwise," he grinned and swung his arm around her.

Nuka's father only shook his head.

"Yeah, well, come on geezer club," said his mother, putting an arm around Bolin and Asami's shoulders. "Let's get going. There's work to do."

"What about me?" asked Nuka, stepping forward. "Why don't I go with you?"

"We'd... actually prefer it if you'd stay and help out maybe?" she half-asked, half-said, pulling her arms back and moving forward to place her hands at his elbows. "I know you want to be in on the action, but interrogating is some serious business."

"Yeah," said his father, walking up next to his mother. "We'd feel a lot better if you were here. I realize this is also where the fighting took place, but here there's a lot more people around and-"

Nuka sighed heavily.

"I get it," he said, putting a hand on his hip. "It's safe here."

His mother smiled and pulled him down so she could plant a kiss on his cheek.

"Thank you," she said, letting go and turning to leave with his father.

"You'll understand some day," he said.

As they left, his Aunt Asami walked up beside him and smiled, pulling him away by his arm. Nuka let out another sigh.

"All parents say that?" he asked.

"Most," she told him. "In some form or way. It's another way to say 'I love you" after all."

Now, the next day he and his father sat in their kitchen, his father going through all the things he was trying to straighten out in his hand. As anything, it seemed like it all had to be heaped in a lot of talking and running around.

"...not only that, but how did they manage to get submarines into the harbor?" said his father, swallowing a spoonful of rice. "Unless they were using some new technology? But a technology that doesn't allow other benders people to detect them? I should ask Varrick about it."

"Maybe you should," suggested Nuka, sitting back in his chair. "Get out of the house and away from your desk? You could go talk to him and maybe get a lead on that."

"Agreed," said his father, finishing up his food. "I think I'll do that. Stretch my legs, be productive. Will you do me a favor though?"

Nuka blinked.

"Uh, yeah, sure. What is it?"

"Your mother's supposed to go speak with Tenzin after talking with the president. While I'm out, did you want to go to Air Temple Island? Tell her where I'll be at and make sure she gets something to eat? When she gets busy like this you know she forgets to and it's not good for how much she moves around."

"True. That's fine," said Nuka. He got up out of his chair. "Kanane can use the exercise anyway. He hasn't had any today and he's probably doing alley oops in stable."

"Probably. Also, make sure he uses the bathroom somewhere appropriate. I don't want to have to smell his... surprises in the backyard anymore. He's bigger than the other three you know. It's enough to ruin your appetite for the rest of the day."

Nuka laughed.

"I will. He'll enjoy the swim over."

"Alright then. Be careful out there though."

"You too, Pops," said Nuka, clapping his father on the back. "You do the same."

Having big animals meant that you needed a lot of backyard space. Their house wasn't all the way out of the city, but it was enough out that the commute was a little lengthy for his father. He supposed that's what happened when you had an eel hound and three polar bear dogs. Being the lengthier creature, Kanane needed a lot of room to stretch his legs. Walking into their expansive backyard, you could see about an acre of land corralled by tall wooden fences and a large enough stable built into the fence for the dogs to sleep in. Tavra, the larger of the polar bear dogs, sided up to Nuka and immediately started sniffing him

"Sorry boy. No treat right now. I need to go run a few errands, but I'll pick some up on the way back, alright?" grinned Nuka., scratching underneath the dog's chin."I know you and Tamaija like those biscuits don't you? Though I noticed she preferred the possum chicken flavor. Your mom too, but she's probably gotten some by now since she out with my mom."

Tavra seemed to agree, licking Nuka's face lightly. He turned tail and went back to his spot sleeping in the sun, Tamaija turning on her belly close by when he nudged up next to her. Chuckling, Nuka passed them by, rubbing Tamaija's belly on the way.

Closer to the back, the large lizard like hound seemed to be taking in the sun, laying on his side and turning onto his belly to give his back it's fair share of sun.

"Kanane!" called Nuka, letting out a short whistle.

Suddenly alert, Kanane picked up his head and scrambled to his feet when he saw the boy. He shuffled on over, sniffing Nuka and snorting a little when he too realized there was no snack on Nuka's person.

"Sorry, buddy. No snack for you either, but how about a walk? A swim?" he asked. In response, Kanane's head perked up at hearing some of his favorite words. "Yeah? Okay, let's go. We're going to go see Mom."

Knowing the drill, Kanane walked into the stable and got down on his belly so Nuka could easily saddle him up. As soon as they finished and Nuka was seated on top of his back, Kanane walked out to the gate and patiently waited. As if on cue, Nuka's father came out to open the gate.

"Don't get in the way of any ships you might see. No racing any boats or what not, okay?" asked his father, opening the gate.

"We won't!" called Nuka, waving off as Kanane had already leapt out the second he could

Now fully free, Nuka only had to steer and pull on the reins a little as Kanane dashed off toward the city. Racing around in this area with his hound had to be some of the most fun Nuka had at times, but these days it reminded him of when he and Tikaani would ride Tavra and Tamaija out here as well. Even with Naga and his mother.

Of course, that was a long time ago now.

Shaking his head of the memories, Nuka pulled at the reins as they started meeting city streets and sidewalks. Last thing anybody needed was to get run over by an eel hound. Responsive, Kanane slowed to a walk and continued toward the harbor, knowing exactly where he was supposed to be going when they mentioned "go for a swim."

He greeted any familiar passerby, having taken this route many a time. A few of the men and women who exchanged greetings with him even patted Kanane as they walked on by. They got to Yue Bay with ease and there was no hesitation as Kanane just walked up to the pier and dipped in. He swam calmly, simply enjoying the cool water on his skin.

The day was so... normal.

The night before had been the scariest night of some peoples lives, yet here they were today. Sun still shining despite the fact that everybody with a toe in the politics of Republic City were running around with their heads cut off. Nature was funny like that.

Was it odd that he didn't feel as alarmed by the events of last night as everybody around him did? Or maybe it was that he didn't seem to be allowed to do much? Never mind that he'd been _in _the fight. Maybe he saw something that was important... even if he knew that he hadn't. Sure, he wanted to be a professional probender, not a cop, but that didn't mean he hadn't picked up a few detective skills growing up. Maybe he could help.

Perhaps it was just the idea that his parents were going to get all wrapped up in this for who knew how long. He wanted to ease the hassle if even a little. For all purposes and intentions, at least this was some kind of start. Making sure _both _of his parents got a bite to eat throughout the day while they were swamped with this and that. Spirits only knew that his mother was trying avoid the press for the time being as much as possible. Air Temple Island was a good place to do that right about now while still getting _something _done.

With all these thoughts rolling in his head, the shores of Air Temple Island were already upon them. Together, they climbed the stairs up to the main grounds and Nuka slid off Kanane's back. Looking around, the grounds were alive with the laughter of children and the hustle and bustle of the Air Nomads. How strange that this place apparently had once been a lot less active. Growing up, the island had always been a little bit like it's own society, the people in their robes of orange, brown and red, some with blue arrows and some without. According to his mother, there was a time when there weren't _nearly _as many people living there as there were now. Airbenders especially.

He and Tikanni practically considered Air Temple Island a second home. They'd spent so much time there that walking around the grounds only felt natural. With that, it was no surprise to him that an acolyte he'd come to know over the years walked up to him with a smile and held out his hands for Kanane's reins.

"Why hello, Nuka," said the man with a shaved head and lively brown eyes. "I take it you're looking for your mother?"

Nuka greet the man with a small laugh.

"Hey, Trung, how's it going? Yeah, guess she's already been trekking around here it seems, huh?"

"Yes, yes, even Master Tenzin's been very busy," nodded Trung. "Last night was... something else to say the least. She's been at talks with Master Tenzin since she arrived. When Avatar duties come calling."

"Tell me about it," said Nuka, making a face and sighing.

"I take it your here to come find her?"

"Oh, uh, yeah. My dad wanted me to talk to her. Do you know where she might be exactly?"

"Hmm, I think I saw them at the meditation pavilion perhaps? They seem to be more walking and talking last time I saw them though," said Trung, nodding thoughtfully. "In the meantime, did you want me to take Kanane? We have those peanut butter biscuits he loved so much from last time."

Hearing something about peanut butter and biscuits made Kanane step forward an start sniffing Trung. There were treats to be made up for after a nice long walk and swim.

"Well, I think he just made his own decision about that," chuckled Nuka, handing over Kanane's reins. "You don't mind?"

"Not at all." Trung shook his head. "We've come to be friends, Kanane and I, haven't we boy?"

Kanane made a light woofing sound as Trung petted him.

"Alright then. Thanks Trung. As long as you're sure. I'll come fetch him when I'm done."

Nodding again, Trung and Kanane walked off. Nuka turned the other way, rubbing his neck and trying to decide where he should start. She would probably be here a while so he just began walking around idly, saying hi and greeting those who crossed his path. If there was one thing he'd have to pick about the Air Nation's people that he loved it would have to be that, unlike others, they didn't seem to care that he was the Avatar's son. They didn't ask him abnormally personal questions or if he'd ever seen his mother in the Avatar State, an absolute favorite among patrons of Republic City. As far as the people of the Air Nation were concerned? The Avatar was simply a good person and a fine friend who had a normal family life of her own.

After a while, he came up near a courtyard and almost stopped, thinking he heard a familiar voice. When he listened, however, and turned the corner it certainly wasn't his mother.

"...and then the _greedy _dragon was defeated by Avatar Wan, _but-_" Nima dramatically raised her finger, holding the vapid attention of a three year old whose big blue grey eyes remained focused. The two of them were seated on a nearby bench, Nima apparently having decided to entertain her baby cousin with a story.

"What happen?" asked Luli, mouth agape.

"Well, the dragon was just _so _greedy and _so _bad," continued Nima, bending her fingers to imitate claws. "That Avatar Wan was afraid that the dragon's dark spirit would come back because it was so strong. So, he sealed the dragon's spirit in a simple bottle and hid it from the world. That way, the evil dragon would never see the light of day again."

In finality, Nima clapped her hands together.

Grinning at the sight and unable to help himself, Nuka walked up to them.

"Is that so?" he asked, sitting down.

Luli gasped and jumped onto her feet to reach Nuka as he stood up again, bringing her along with him.

"Nuka! Nuka! Did you hear about the dragon?" she asked, clearly excited. "He's scary, but that's okay. The Avatar told him to go away. Your mommy does that, right?"

"My mommy does do that," he laughed, holding her and ruffling her dark brown hair. "I think she might be trying to do that now in fact. Have you two seen her?"

Both girls shook their heads.

"Well, actually. I did see her earlier near the training circle with Grandpa, but that was a long time ago," said Nima.

Luli, however – interested in other things – continued.

"Are dragons bad?" she asked

Nuka shook his head.

"I don't think so. Lord Zuko had a dragon and he was plenty friendly I hear," he said and put her down on the ground. Just then, two boys twice her height came and threw themselves around Nuka. Nearly stumbling, he raised his elbows up and looked down at Rama and Naoka bemusedly.

"Nuka!" Naoka Beifong looked up at him, messy black hair ruffled and green eyes alight. "There you are! You said you were going to let us ride Kanane last time!"

"Yeah," agreed Rama. "You said it'd be okay and that he wouldn't mind"

"Hey, I was wondering when I'd see you squirts.." Nuka chuckled. "Yeah, I did say that, didn't I? Honestly, he'd be ecstatic. The more swimming he does the better chance he's going to sleep well later on too. Here. If you can go get permission from your folks I'll let you take a swim with him today. How's that?"

"Yeah!" cried the two boys.

"Okay. You go do that, but I have to take care of a couple things with my mom first then we can get to that."

"He's _busy_, Rama. You can swim anytime. We live on an _island_," said Nima, making a face at her little brother.

Rama turned his head to look at her and frowned.

"_Really?_" he asked, mock-astonished and his face schooled in a shocked expression. "I thought we lived in the North Pole. My mistake. Guess one of us needs to learn our geography."

Suppressed laughter grinded in the back of Naoka's throat as he sniggered. Scowling at Rama, Nima opened her mouth to say something back, but Nuka beat them to it.

"Come on you two," he said, looking between them. "Chill out. You guys were good last night."

"That was different. That was a near death experience," said Rama frankly.

"It's the same with me and Jun," said Naoka, nodding his head. "It's all fire with her."

I wish I could say anything at all about my sister right about now, thought Nuka before he could stop himself.

"Anyway," he said, proverbially shaking his head. "Yeah, but get your parents permissions and I'll let you ride him. Gotta make sure they're not going to be too scared I'll drown you both."

"Okay," said the boys, letting go of him. Naoka turned toward Luli and Nima. "But we came by to get Luli. Uncle Meelo and Auntie Tuyen says it's time for her nap."

Hearing that, Luli shook her head.

"No nap!"

"Yes nap," said Rama, taking her hand, Naoka taking the other.

Stamping her feet, she fought to take her hands away.

"If you don't take a nap though," began Nima, putting her hands on her shoulders. "You know you won't be allowed t have desert."

"Aww," frowned Luli. "But... Grandma says she's going to make cherry pie..."

"Then you need to take a nap, okay?" Nima gently nudged her along.

"...kay," agreed Luli, clearly willing to sacrifice precious playtime to ensure a desert for herself later.

As the three walked off, Nima sat down with a little giggle.

"She's so cute. I'm like Grandma and I love to squeeze her cheeks though she can only handle so much smothering," she said, mimicking a squeeze motion with her fingers. "But I can't help it."

"She's still a baby," said Nuka, sitting next to her. "It's only natural. It's just funny since now she's old enough to tell you to get lost."

She laughed.

"Tell me about it. One time she got mad at me for it, but she also really needed a nap too. Mom told me to cut it out."

"I can see that... So..." began Nuka, resting his elbow on his knee and his head on his hand. "You doing okay, kid?"

She didn't look at him and chose to focus on the small pond not too far away.

"You're the fifth person to ask me that," she said lightly, almost like she wanted to laugh again. "Including my parents and my aunt and uncles. Today's gorgeous. What's there not to be okay about?"

"Just... you know. With everything happening. Yesterday and all."

"Well, yeah, that was scary, but nobody really got hurt. I mean, Auntie Ikki freaked us out when we found she got hurt, but everybody says she's doing just fine."

"I think last night had a lot more going on than that. It's going to take some figuring out, but... don't worry about that for the time being. I was more talking about _yesterday. _Not last night... you know you can talk to me, right? Especially about this?"

Neither of them said anything. Having known Nima since she was born, he knew her silences and what they met.

"She's coming back you know," she said finally, quietly, still not looking at him. The pond seemed to have half of her attention at the moment, the fish in it swimming as tranquil as any other normal day. "She just needed a break. Probably really frustrated and just... she needed a break. That's all. She'll be back when she's calmed down."

All other people might have told her that it'd been a year. That people didn't take year long breaks from their entire lives under normal circumstances. Or at least under the circumstances under which Tikaani left home.

But Nuka understood. He knew. He waited for his sister to return for weeks himself, not going out as much and just generally staying up a lot at night the days past, hoping she'd turned tail and march back home, climb into her bed and be there when they all woke up.

He had waited too.

This was a silence from Nima that he understood perfectly because, damn it all, he couldn't keep his sister out of his head either. He wondered if Nima felt like the memories of Tikaani were taunting her the same way he swore they were taunting him.

His lip curling back sympathetically, he reached out and clapped a hand on her shoulder, trying to pretend like he couldn't see the over bright of her eyes.

"I miss her too," he whispered.

She ducked her head for a moment, then suddenly stood up and started walking away.

"I-I just remembered that I have to go help Grandma with those pies!" she called over her shoulder as she turned to leave. "I'll see you later, Nuka!"

Looking after her, Nuka frowned.

Perhaps he shouldn't have asked?

Yet, at the same time he also wanted her to know that there were people who understood what she was feeling at the moment. In retrospect, maybe he should have been more discreet about it.

Putting his mind back to his original task, he stood up and started looking for his mother again. He left the courtyard, but this time it didn't take long before he heard someone calling his name. When he turned around, Master Tenzin and his mother were walking toward him.

"Hey, Tenzin." Nuka waved as they walked up. "Your back doing better today?"

"Oh, yes, much better. Thank you for asking. Though I'm always a little sore there these days," said Tenzin, smiling in greeting. "But a little rest and morning meditation goes a long way. I trust you weren't hurt in last night's battle were you?"

"No," he shook his head, scoffing bemusedly. "If I were, my mother probably would have chained me to my bed."

His mother raised his eyebrows at him.

"I've thought about it after some of your probending injuries. Don't think I haven't," she told him, putting a hand on her hip. "And last night was no probending match so don't push it."

"I know, I know. '_Last night could have ended up more than I could handle and I could have gotten seriously hurt.' _You guys said all that this morning," he groaned, then looked back at them. "But _battle_. No warning or anything either. I can't believe we're calling it that, but that's what it was I guess... everybody _is _okay though, right?"

"Ikki was injured by the man taken into custody," said Tenzin seriously. "But aside from that, no dire injuries. I have to agree. This was completely out of the blue. No indication or even reason I can think of as to what that attack was about. However, your mother and I agree that we need to figure it out and fast."

"Don't worry, Tenzin," said his mother, placing a hand on his shoulder. "The United Forces will be pulling into harbor real soon and they're going to provide extra security. Also, Mako has his officers interrogating that guy as we speak. None of us are letting up until we can get a lead on what went on here last night."

"That makes me feel a lot better to be honest," nodded Tenzin. "My children are grown and perfectly capable, but... well, I guess it goes without saying that I still worry about everyone. This way, I won't feel quite as uneasy with you gone. You're all grown up as well, but just do an old man a favor and please be careful."

His mother smiled softly at him.

"I will, Tenzin. I promise."

Nuka blinked and looked at his mother.

"Uh... gone? Where're you going?"

"Well, see. Suyin Beifong's contacted me," said his mother, turning to him and frowning worriedly.

"Suna's grandmother? As in Aunt Opal's mother, right? Are we walking about the same Suyin Beifong?" he asked, apprehensive at the answer to his next question. "Did something happen there too?"

"I'm not sure. I don't think anything crazy like last night at least, but apparently she's heard about the attack and she wants to talk to me in person... it looks like I'm headed for Zaofu."

* * *

Hello!

This chapter had a lot of relationship dynamics going on and I enjoyed writing them. The Krew was really fun to write together as well.

As for new appearances, Naoka Beifong, Opal and Bolin's fourth child and second born son makes an appearance. Also, baby Luli, Meelo and Tuyen's daughter (I thought Tuyen was such a cutie). This chapter was more transitionary, but I still had to and thoroughly enjoyed revealing Korra and Mako's family life and more introduce properly the dynamics of the makorra family as well as introducing Nuka's dynamics with the rest of his extended family. Speaking of which, also new are Tavra and Tamaija, Naga's babies. By now, they're grown dogs, but they they, Naga and Nuka's eel hound, Kanane, all live in a big house near the edge of the city where they have a lot of room to stretch their legs (and Korra and Mako won't have to constantly be hounded due to their positions).

As always, guys I really love it when you drop those reviews and for a next generation story like this they're extra appreciated because it lets me know that you guys are reading this story! It really keeps me writing and keeps me going so I love to see those!

Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


	6. Nuka: Pandering

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

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**Nuka: Pandering  
**

* * *

Nuka's mother looked at him and sighed. Frowning, she rested her chopsticks on her bowl. She looked tired and he felt guilty about that. He'd probably feel even more guilty about it later. Her eyes – dull despite their vibrant blue – obviously wanted nothing more than to sleep the way she kept rubbing them with her fingers and she'd let down her salting dark hair to rest on her shoulders.

He shouldn't have been doing this, begging her the way he was and stressing her out more, but he was hard pressed to get her to cave in any other way.

"Nuka. The answer is no."

"Mom, _please_. You're just going to Zaofu! Let me come," pleaded Nuka. He looked across the table at his father. "Dad, c'mon. Help me out."

His father glanced at his mother, sharing similar feelings it seemed from the look on his face, then looked back at him. It made Nuka bite the inside of his cheek to keep from outright bursting.

"I know you want to be in on the action, son, but... this stuff is dangerous," said his father, gently pushing away his empty bowl. "I get where you're coming from. Believe me. You want to do something rather than be helpless and _I get that, _but as your parents... it's a little more complicated than that."

"But Dad, Mom. It's _just _Zaofu. We've been there before dozens of times. Why can't I go there now?"

His mother sighed again and he was seriously beginning to hate that sigh if he didn't already.

Don't treat me like this, he thought solely to himself though he wanted to tattoo it on his forehead at the moment.

"Because this is _business, _Nuka. Suyin isn't inviting me over to Zaofu to show me her grandkids baby pictures. Whatever it is, it's very serious." Her frown faltered slightly. "I don't want you getting mixed up in that."

"I got mixed up in it last night," he retorted.

"And if I'd have had more water around me I might have frozen you to the wall to keep you home," she said, narrowing her eyes at him.

There was that tired look again, he noted as she went back to eating her food.

"Are you even listening to yourself?" Nuka cocked his head incredulously. "I'm _seventeen _years old. If I'm old enough to be in a battle then I'm-"

"An adult?" She dropped the backside of her eating hand onto the table and looked up sharply at him, raising her eyebrows. "Is that what you think? A fight makes you a _grown up?_ Well, I'll have you know that I've been fighting my entire life and let me tell you that is has _nothing _to do with being an adult. Children fight all the time."

Spirits _help him_.

He _hated _when she got like this. Yes, he knew that she was stressed out and had a hard last couple days. That she didn't want to be like this towards him and that he knew – and would acknowledge more later – that he the one making her so cross in the moment, but he didn't care. At seventeen he shouldn't be scolded like a little kid.

All he wanted was to go with her. Why was that so hard? It was business, but why couldn't he be involved in business at his age?

"_I'm not a child._" He looked her square in the eye.

The way she stilled as she looked at him reminded him of the dogs when they were staring something down. Unbowed and unbent, his mother looked away from no one. _Especially_ her own son and he really should have known better.

"But you are _my _child," she said clearly, slowly. "_The answer. Is no._"

It was moments like these that he knew why his mother's eyes sometimes reminded him of the ocean rather than the sky despite their color. She continued to stare him down and he felt his resolve slipping away. You couldn't exactly challenge the ocean. You couldn't challenge the sky neither, but the ocean had a way getting what it wanted even if it didn't seem fair.

He looked away. When he did, he could hear the clinking of her chopsticks against her bowl again. She'd gone back to eating just like that.

"I have to say that I agree with you mother," said his father, nudging him on the shoulder.

"We're only doing this to protect you," said his mother a bit more gently this time.

Yeah, I'm going to understand someday, he thought disparagingly.

"Whatever," he said, grabbing his bowl and putting in the sink.

Great. While his mother was going to be off saving the world again he was going to go ahead and be stuck here in Republic City. Not knowing what she was up to or how long she'd be away. He was just supposed to be happy being left in the dark because it was what was best for him. Always to protect him. Who said he _wanted _to be protected anymore?

A fire in his chest flared up again as he finished washing his bowl.

"You never used to worry about Tikaani like this," he spat, back turned to them. A distant pang of guilt wrapped around his heart when he no longer heard the clinking of their bowls. As the silence began to suffocate him, he moved to leave the room.

But just as he reached the door he heard his mother talk at his back.

"I know."

That night, sleep was not Nuka's friend. He couldn't stop thinking about his mother's hollow voice at what he'd said about Tikaani. Of course, he felt guilty now. In retrospect, it was a low blow and if he was going to say something out of frustration then it really shouldn't have been that. Part of him wanted to get up right now and go apologize to her.

Yet, at the same time... he also wanted to get his point across. He didn't want to be left here in the city while she was off handling the reins of the world. Why was it so bad that he come when Suyin only wanted to talk? Perhaps she felt like he couldn't help and that was just as frustrating.

Stuffing his face into his pillow, he eventually fell asleep for the night.

The next morning, he got up with a little less spring in his step than normal. He got dressed, slipping on his underarmour shirt, loose pants and boots. Looking in the mirror, he wondered if his temper was likened to his mother's the same way his clothes seemed to. After all, both of them being waterbenders tended yield similar dress results. Even the hide skin and thick sash at his waist vaguely reminded him of hers.

He groaned.

He really needed to get downstairs and apologize to her. This was going to bother him for the rest of the day if not.

Doing just that, he made his way downstairs to see his father already sitting at the table eating a bowl of rice and noodles, his mother more than likely out and about by now. From the large portion, it seemed like the extra bowl beside him was for Nuka himself.

"Your mother made it," said his father, not looking up from his food. "She knows you need to eat well before you go workout. You know. Since she's your mother and she thinks about these things a lot."

"Oh... yeah"

Gingerly and almost awkwardly, he sat down and began to eat. Each bite though was settling the guilt in his stomach more and more. Why couldn't he have just kept his mouth shut last night?

"Do I even have to tell you that you need to find time to apologize to her?" asked his father, his eyes cutting over to look at him.

Nuka sighed heavily and put his chopsticks down.

"No," he groaned. "I know I shouldn't have said that. I was just- I can't- I just want to _go_."

His father finally looked at him and smiled sympathetically.

"I know you do, son. I know you do. But you also need to remember that she's the Avatar. The things she does get kind of crazy and, don't get me wrong, I worry about her. I worry about her a lot, but I also worry about you..." He swallowed hard. "And yes. I also worry about your sister. I always will. As for your mother? I trust her too. She' been through some incredibly harrowing stuff and I know she can make it out of anything. As long as she asks me to believe in her then I will. You understand?"

"I do..." said Nuka weakly. "It's just..."

"It's just what?" his father asked gently.

"It's just that I'm tired of saying goodbye. I'd like to start going with her if I can."

When his father didn't say anything after that, Nuka began scarfing down his food.

-:-:-:-

"You _said _that? Man, That's cold. Your own mama."

Genji Sato looked at him, making a face. Normally, he and Genji were best buddies and they still were, but at the moment Nuka wanted to slap those freckles right from across his nose. About his age give or take a few months, the young man was tan and dyed a red-head just like one of his mothers, Nuka's Aunt Ginger, usually was only his eyes were yellow. Whoever his birth parents were, at least one of them was probably from the Fire Nation. As of right now, Nuka wanted to kick his behind straight _to _the Fire Nation.

"Shut up," grumbled Nuka as he shot a blast of water at one of the red painted target across the room. "I _know _that."

He looked at his cousin, Suna, beside Genji. From the look on _her _face she way resisting the urge to say something. Like a Beifong, she had Aunt Opal's particular green eyes and that thick black Beifong hair that rested on her shoulders. She had her father's fairer skin and he could see a little bit of her father's thick eyebrows in her own as well. Just a little bit.

"Go ahead," he groaned.

"You really shouldn't have said that," she said, holding down her upper arm as if she had to fight the urge to bring her finger up in scolding. "I know you were angry, but... she really didn't deserve that."

"I know, I know." Nuka hit another red painted target dead on and turned fully toward them both. "You guys aren't saying anything I don't already know. It was... it was bad. I shouldn't have said it at all. I just can't stand how I _always _get left behind. And it's true! Tell me it isn't true that my mother _never _worried about Tikaani like this. Holding her back. She got to do whatever her heart desired."

Genji raised his eyebrows and shared looks with Suna.

"Yeah, but...your sister didn't _do _much. She got up, went to Air Temple Island everyday and she trained. And trained. And trained. Stayed there most nights too. I think you're forgetting that your sister was like part machine." Genji half turned his body to wave his arm at some general direction. "Ma has me workin' _planes _that'll give out before your sister does. It's not hard to let someone do what they want when they only do one thing."

Nuka rolled his eyes.

"You know what I mean."

Genji made another face and shook his head.

"No, I don't because you're not makin' any damn sense!"

"What he _means,_" began Suna, cutting them both off. "Is that you're not Tikaani. She was kind of hard to stop either way and I'm sure Auntie Korra _did _worry about her, but..."

Nuka sighed.

"She was always the better fighter, right?"

Though Suna didn't say anything, Genji pursed his lips rather frankly and curtly nodded his head in affirmation.

"Yeah," he shrugged.

"You're great support, man."

"Hey, don't get grumpy with us because you're feeling guilty," said Genji, putting his hands up defensively. "Just say your sorry. I've had to apologize to my mothers plenty of times. It's not like she won't forgive you. "

Suna nodded beside him.

"He's right," she said kindly. "You mean it and I don't think she'd ever turn you away. As for Zaofu... it's been a while since my family and I've been to visit my grandparents. Perhaps I can convince my parents to take a trip if she's going. That can give you can excuse to go too."

Nuka blinked and a smile slowly grew on his face.

"Really? You'd go through all that trouble?"

"Mm-hmm." She nodded. "It's really bothering you. I don't want you to be like that the entire time she's gone."

Grinning now, Nuka swung an arm around his cousin's neck and planted a fat brotherly kiss on her temple as thanks. That would be a perfect solution to his problem. Though, regardless, they were right. He needed to find time and apologize to his mother today.

"Alrigh'! Suna the fixer-upper strikes again." Genji threw his arms around them both.

Suna chuckled.

"You're normally like my sister and call me 'the meddler' instead," she said though she was smiling as well.

"Sometimes you're the meddler, sometimes you're the fixer-upper. Depends on the occasion," quipped Genji. "This time you fixed macho man's problems. As always."

Nuka nearly started pouting at that.

"She doesn't _always_-"

"Nuka?"

The three turned around awkwardly, craning their necks over Genji's arms and attempting not to topple over. Behind them, Nuka's mother and Aunt Asami stood, staring on quizzically. Amused even.

Almost immediately, Genji took back his arms and spread them in a sudden welcoming gesture.

"Ma!" His voice was almost shrilly. "What are you doing here? Have I told you how absolutely _stunning_ you look today?"

Nuka rolled his eyes and had to resist the urge to laugh. Someone didn't do his chores again.

Aunt Asami only crossed her arms, tapping her foot slowly as she stared at her son with a raised brow.

"I'm sure that I would look a whole lot better if those planes I asked you to tinker around with were done. When I said you could be done after a while I didn't mean ten minutes after I left the house while your mother was practicing her lines."

"But Ma," whined Genji, rubbing his hand over his eyes and then throwing it down exasperatedly. "You hadta' to give me the most banged up planes in the entire lot of em'? You couldn't have given me something a little less junky to work on? I'll be there for _hours _and it's _hot_."

Beside his Aunt, Korra glanced between mother and son with a knowing smile. That Nuka was glad to see. Hopefully the day hadn't been too worn on her. Maybe he could grab her as soon as they were done here and talk to her sooner rather than later.

"Your mother and I," began Aunt Asami, inhaling and exhaling through her nose in control. "Think it's a fine punishment for deliberately disobeying us when we told you _not _to try and sneak on the airships the other night. Yet, there you go not even fifteen minutes later-"

"Ma, I could have taken em!" Genji mock-punched the air for effect. "I've _fought _benders! I coulda' had em by the ropes!"

"Doesn't change the fact that you disobeyed us. So junky planes it is. You know you don't have to fix them completely," she said sternly though she reached out to absently fix his messy side-combed hair with her fingers "Just tinker around with them a little and see what's going on in them. You're not even working _alone_. I have you working with the other mechanics."

"...can't I do it another day?"

"Sweetheart, you're lucky I'm not confining you to your room instead. The faster you get to those planes the faster you'll be done," she said more gently this time. "Okay?"

Genji stared at her a moment and sighed. He side glanced at Nuka as Suna suppressed a giggle.

"Most children do regular chores... sweep floors, clean their rooms," he grumbled. "Not Sato children, oh no, we fix flippin' _planes_ as extra chores..."

"But they're still chores," pointed out Suna, this time wagging her finger just a little. "Just do them and they'll be done."

"That's the spirit," said Aunt Asami, nodding and gesturing towards Suna in agreement.

Genji stared at Suna now, deadpanned. Nuka bit his lip to fight a grin when he grumbled something about 'the meddler' and his mother swatted him albeit lightly. The five of them talked for a moment, Nuka's mother glancing at him only for brief moments. She seemed like she wanted to talk to him as well. After a another moment, Nuka moved away and his mother took note, excusing herself.

When she joined him away from the group, Nuka turned his eyes downcast.

"Mom, I uh..."

He felt her put her hand on his cheek and duck her head so she could get a better look at his face. Spirits that was making him feel _guiltier_.

"Hey," she began gently. "Just forget about it, okay? You've got bigger things to worry about than my problems. Like your probending practices. Old man Toza says you need to work on your aim a bit."

She laughed lightly, but Nuka shook his head.

"No, I... I was wrong. Mom, I'm sorry. I know Tikaani's a sore spot and all. That's why I said it in the first place and that makes it worse. I was just..." He breathed deeply. "You know."

"I do know. Believe me. I've been there," she said and drew him into a hug. When she brought his head onto her shoulder, he didn't care who was around. He closed his eyes and drew in a shaky breath, letting it out just as unsteady as she spoke quietly. "And... I miss her too. Your father caught me earlier today and we talked about it a little bit. I'll consider it, okay? I just... I can't stand the idea of something happening with you too."

Nuka drew back to look at her. She smiled sadly at him, but when he was about to say something he could feel eyes on them and turned. The three left standing not too far away had stopped all conversation and were staring.

His mother quickly rubbed her eye and turned toward them.

"You guys are so nosy," she laughed. "Asami! You should know better too!"

Aunt Asami's cheeks turned pink and she looked like a cat-deer caught in the headlights.

"Sorry, sorry," she said, putting her hands on her hips. "I just wanted to make sure you two we're okay over there."

"We're fine," said Nuka, waving dismissively. "Patched up and all that. We're good whether I go to Zaofu or not."

"Speaking of that, uh..." Suna stepped forward, hands clasped in front of her. She turned toward Nuka's mother. "Auntie Korra, you know, my family hasn't gone to visit Zaofu in a while. Perhaps... if I can convince them it's time then Nuka _can _come along. Or maybe even if it's just me and him that go. I figured that if he's not the only one to go along with you then he'll have company while your busy."

Nuka glanced at his mother. She raised her eyebrows, looking around thoughtfully as if weighing the options. After a moment, she smiled and nodded slowly.

"I can see that," she said, putting a hand on Nuka's elbow. "Okay, kiddo. I like that plan. If you guys feel like joining us then I will let Nuka come along as well. I'll feel a lot better with you around anyway."

Nuka scoffed, despite the smile on his face.

"Like I need babysitting."

"Can I come?" Genji glanced around, namely at his mother. "I'll be the second babysitter. He's trouble."

Though Nuka elbowed him, Aunt Asami looked at his mother, her arms cross. She raised her eyebrows.

"I'll have to talk to Ginger, but what do you think Korra? Think I should I let him out of my sight?" she asked playfully "Or would you mind?"

His mother laughed.

"Nah, I don't mind, I think with Suna around they can't get into too much trouble. Why not?"

"I suppose you're right," said Aunt Asami, turning back to her son. "I'll talk to your mother and if she says she's fine with it then you can go on a little road trip with these guys. As long as you don't get into trouble of course."

Genji grinned and punched the air lightly.

"That's what I'm talkin' about! Thanks, Ma. I've been needing a vacati- agh! _Ma! Stop that, you're lipstick always leave a stain!_" he cried, trying to push his mother away when he felt her lean forward to kiss his forehead. True to his words, there was a rather dark red lipstick mark planted where she'd kissed him.

"Oh, don't get all worked up," she laughed along with Nuka's mother now. "That's just a little love to take with you."

"Hey, Asami. Maybe I should try that with this one here. Lend me you're lipstick, huh?" chortled his mother, nudging Nuka.

At that, he snorted and smiled.

It was going to be a lot easier to sleep tonight.

* * *

I promise next chapter they'll be going to Zaofu!

Honestly, they were supposed to go to Zaofu _this _chapter, but this particular plot point extended a little longer than I thought it would, but it was a point that I needed to flesh out as well as for the sake of making sure the pacing doesn't get all jerky. Admittedly though, I was afraid this chapter was going to be too slow for people. Things will start picking up and clues opening up in a bit. You'll start to see why exactly Air Temple Island was attacked and start getting into the waters of the big picture as we continue on.

Also, I've noted that there are new characters abound due to all the kids and I'm going to do my very hardest to keep them all straight for you guys, making sure they get their own characterizations and don't get muddled between each other. Since this is a next generation story there are quite a few new faces. All of whom interact with the character we know and love. Kids of theisr and a few others, but every one I introduce definitely has some role to play and you'll be seeing more of that particular character later and however they weave into the story.

This fic just reached thirty reviews and I want to think each and every one of you. Those reviews really mean a lot to me, especially considering it's a next generation story. They help me keep writing and they tell me that people do indeed read this story. I honestly love reading every word even if it's just to point out something because you still took the time to write it.

As always and as said above, I do love it when you guys drop those reviews and they keep me motivated to keep writing! Thank you! Tune in for next chapter!


	7. Nuka and Korra: Zaofu

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

* * *

**Nuka and Korra: Zaofu  
**

* * *

**Nuka**

* * *

The trip to Zaofu was made that much easier with an airship borrowed by Future Industries. Courtesy of Nuka's Aunt Asami of course.

With eight Beifongs, the Avatar, an eel hound and a polar bear dog, you really needed a lot of room and Future Industries airships were always said to be the best. Aunt Asami always insisted that they were at least much better than "_those shoddy as a tin can Cabbage Corp ones_" as she had so eloquently put it. According to Nuka's mother, Aunt Asami and the CEO of Cabbage Corp did not get along very well these days for a variety of reasons.

The only worry on Nuka's mind was that of his father, but his father had made it clear that he would be just fine. More than likely he would simply bury himself in his work at home so he wasn't away from Tavra and Tamaija too long.

"Do yourself a favor and don't stay up too late, okay?" his mother had told his father as they were boarding the airship, their arms wrapped around each other. Nuka, checking his bags, stood nearby.

"I won't. You just do yourself a favor and remember to eat," he said, smiling at her. "At least do _me_ that favor."

"Su's going to be making sure we all get our fill with her grandchildren coming out," she laughed lightly. "But I'm going to go talk to the pilot real fast before we set off. I'm serious about the sleep thing though... I love you."

She smiled at him and he leaned down to kiss her.

"I love you too," he said. "And I will. I promise. The dogs will start howling if I start to ignore them anyway. You just go take care of business."

After one last embrace, they pulled away and Nuka's father turned toward him.

"As for you," said his father, putting his hands on his son's shoulders. "I want you to have fun, but not too much fun, okay? Don't get yourself in any trouble."

Nuka grinned.

"I know, I know," he said. "Mom's got enough to worry about. I'll behave."

His father nodded with a smile and then sighed, just staring at him.

Blinking, Nuka's grin faltered.

"What is it?" he asked.

"Nothing," said his father, shaking his head. He put a hand on Nuka's head. "It's just... you're almost as tall as me now. I remember when you used to be a baby no bigger than a loaf of bread."

Nuka burst out laughing.

"_A loaf of bread, Dad?_"

"It's true!" His father laughed with him now. "You used to be so small, but now look at you. Seventeen years old and you're nearly as tall as you're old man. You're probably going to resemble your grandfather in that sense. He was always a tall guy from what your mother tells me and he's always been far taller than me."

"To be fair, he's always been bigger than just about everyone," pointed out Nuka. "And stronger."

"Tell me about it," snorted his father. "I've had enough crushing hugs from that man over the years to certainly remember that. Old man or no old man. You should have seen our wedding day. We still have that one picture of your grandfather hugging me and your mother _swears_ that I look like I'm about to cry."

Nuka shrugged.

"Gran-gran's always said he doesn't know his own strength when he's happy."

His father nodded and swung an arm around Nuka, walking up the airship ramp with him.

"Do me a favor, okay?"

Nuka smiled.

"Don't worry. I'll keep an eye on Mom."

His father clapped him on the opposite shoulder as they walked.

-:-:-:-

Their trip to Zaofu was going to take a couple days at most. They would stop to refuel for the night and then be there sometime the next day. To pass the time once they'd landed in a small valley between mountainsides for the night, Nuka finally took Jun aside for some of those probender pointers she'd been begging him so much for while his mother, Aunt Opal and Uncle Bolin talked inside the airship.

"As an earthbender," he said, bending his knees and putting up his hands in a fighting position. "You're going to want to make sure you're stance is strong, but quick. You know that earthbending requires a strong stance to be effective, but in probending you can't plant yourself in one place. You need to be quick and concise, especially since your weapons in the ring are disks. I'm a bit different since I'm a waterbender. You're more stepping around the ring. I'm more dancing around it to grab water here and there. You get what I'm saying?"

Giving him her undivided attention, Jun nodded.

At thirteen years old, Jun Toph Beifong was as old as Nima. She reminded Nuka of Suna in the way that she had that black Beifong hair, fairer skin and thicker eyebrows although Jun's resembled their father's a little more. He couldn't help but watch that ferocious look on her face as she kept her focus on him, determined to intake this information and apply it to her own form. Here she was, this skinny girl – almost dainty in both body and face – and yet her expression betrayed all those features.

"I know all that, Nuka. What I really want to know is how to punch hard and really knock em' out of the the park! " she said hastily and then gestured to him. "Like you do."

He chuckled.

"Punching hard is all well and good, but take it from me. A good defense is it's own reward."

"I thought "a good offense is a good defense" was the saying?' she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Not exactly, but either way that's why it's in own reward. _Believe me_. You don't want to get hit by another earthbender or _any_ bender at all. They can really pack a punch. Earthbending gives you the advantage to hit back with solid, well, _earth_. Here, watch Genji. He'll show you one of the classic two-punch movements."

Nuka turned to where Genji and Suna were standing to the side, observing, and gestured for Genji to come on over. Looking at him as he and Suna walked toward them, Jun seemed puzzled.

"But he's not a bender," she said.

He scowled slightly and made a face right back at her.

"I don't have to be a bender to know how to kick someone's a-"

"_Genji!_" chided Suna, lightly pushing him.

"-assets of defense," he said, nodding and glancing over at Suna.

Jun crossed her arms and rolled her eyes at her sister.

"I know what he was going to say, Suna." She frowned. "He was going to say-"

Suna glared at Jun and cut her off.

"If _you_ say it I'm going to smack you."

"You're not Mom," scoffed Jun. "And I'm not scared of you. It's not like you'd have the guts anyway. You're just like Naoka. You'd never hurt a fly!"

"Naoka's an _airbender__, _Jun. Of course he wouldn't literally hurt a fly. Just like Mom wouldn't and every other person on Air Temple Island. You should know that."

"Then, what's _your_ excuse?" grumbled Jun.

Suna frowned deeply at her now.

"Not everybody feels the need to _fight_, Jun. You shouldn't even be doing this... all this probending training! You barely weigh a hundred pounds! Do you have any idea what a probending match could _do_ to you? The _injuries_ they sustain? Some of them are crippled for life after their matches!"

Nuka blinked and looked at her.

"Hey. I'm standing right here."

Suna sighed exasperatedly.

"Nuka, you're almost two hundred pounds of muscle. Your build is starkly different than hers. You have a great shot at making pro and _not_ getting killed by a blow to the chest. Jun's just a little girl-"

At that, Jun immediately turned red as a tomato.

"I'm not a little girl! It's not my fault that you're the metalbender in the family and you also happen to be the coward!"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Nuka stood between them. The girls scowled at one another and Suna looked away pointedly. "Okay. First of all. Jun, Suna has a point. You are at a disadvantage because you're built so lightly. On the other hand... Suna, you can't rule her out just because she's small. It's not all about force in the ring. You've got to be smart too and I think Jun is plenty smart."

At this point, Genji was edging closer to Nuka, not liking the energy surrounding the two girls.

"I just think," began Suna, a deep frown still on her face when she turned to Nuka. "That we have enough fighters in the world. It's not like I hate the idea of _you_ being a probender. If you made pro then I would cheer for you just like the rest of us because I know you can handle it. I just hate the idea of my tiny sister getting swept up in something she doesn't understand. It's not like the probending world is all lights and fame. You know that. I'm sure Old Man Toza makes sure you never forget it."

Nuka pursed his lips and sighed.

She had a point. The world of professional probending had gotten dangerous. It was a world that could get steeped in money owed to the wrong people, gambling and even a little bit of triad trouble if you started talking to the wrong folks. Old Man Toza had personal experiences of that and made sure to drill that into Nuka's head when he really started to get serious about wanting to go pro. Even today, the old man and his parents made sure he remembered that.

"But it doesn't mean she can't learn," he said finally. "Just because I teach her a few things doesn't mean that she's on this set stone path to be one. And with her being so small like you said, learning new ways to fight probably outweighs the risks anyway."

Jun nodded curtly and put her hands on her hips.

"That's right. Now, why don't you leave us alone? We have work to do."

Suna looked down at her sister and swallowed hard, then turned and marched back to the airship.

There was silence between them and then Genji let out a breath.

"That escalated quickly."

Nuka nodded, eyebrows raised.

"And you," he said, turning toward Jun. "You don't have to be so hard on her. She's only trying to look out for you and, I hate to say it, but the world isn't always kind. Especially to little girls."

"I'm not-" she began hotly.

"-you are in the eyes of the people who would love to take advantage of you and use you for their own gain. I will never tell you that you can't go for probending, but you do have to be cautious. That's all she's trying to say. The idea of you getting hurt scares her, okay? Be a little nicer to her?"

Jun looked at him with a faltering gaze, then stuck out her bottom lip and furrowed her brows, staring downcast.

"... she worries too much," she said, begrudgingly.

"I know, but she can't help it," he said gently, smiling a little and putting a hand on his hip. "Let's just do some of those exercises though, okay? It'll make you feel better I'm sure."

Glancing up and returning his smile, Jun nodded.

-:-:-:-

The next morning, Jun was perfectly fine, but Suna was rather quiet. She was somewhat quiet by nature, but Nuka knew she was still a little upset about her outburst with her sister.

After breakfast, he joined her looking out the airship's large panel windows. They just stood there for a little while, watching the passing landscape and taking in the scenery. He knew that they were just waiting. Just waiting for when she was ready to talk. Nuka knew his cousin well and knew that this would be weighing on her mind for a second.

Finally, her hands clasped in front of her, she sighed.

"Why does she hate me?" she asked quietly.

"She doesn't _hate_ you," he replied, concerned. "She could never hate you. It's just that... you can be a bit, well... _overbearing_. She's small, but she _can_ be a probender and it's not like we're going to let her go into anything dangerous. I'll be honest. I think you're worrying too much. Way too much. She's only thirteen."

"That's the thing," she looked out at the glass, slightly distressed. "She's _only_ thirteen! What if she gets her head filled with dreams and all stuck in the clouds to the point that when the time comes she's going to leap before she looks?"

Nuka sighed.

"That's always possible I guess. Though it's not like she's alone in the world. We're all here to look out for her. Why don't you say something to your parents? Uncle Bo _was_ a probender. He can tell her."

"It's not like he _hasn't_. And that's why I'm here!" she said restlessly. "Nuka, c'mon... there are _six_ of us. Sanyan's never much trouble, but that's because he just kind of slouches off somewhere out of the way. Naoka's always pulling some trick on someone, Toza does his best to help, but he's only six and then there's Linyin and she's only three!"

"Okay, but that still doesn't-"

"My parents can take care of the other four, but Jun's always been a handful. All fire and take no prisoners. We're not that far apart in age... if I can help keep an eye on her then my parent's job is a lot easier... besides... I would like her to think better of me..."

She looked at him now, her crestfallen expression making him pull her into a hug.

"If it's any consolation, I like you. And I'm sure she likes you too. You guys are just really different is all."

"I know," she said, smiling sadly at him when he pulled back. "I'd just like us to one day not let that get in the way of everything... I'm... sorry by the way."

Nuka frowned at her.

"About what?"

"All this talk about _my_ sister and all..." she said, looking guilty.

He waved her off.

"Don't worry about it. I know it's a strange thing to say, but... I actually like talking about Tikaani? Makes me feel like she's not totally gone you know? Some parts are hard because I hate thinking about how it makes my parents feel, but otherwise there are times when I _have_ to talk about it." He shrugged. "I mean, helping you and Jun helps prevent you two becoming like us. Besides, you guys are my sisters too, aren't you?"

"We are," she said, smiling and turning to walk with him. "That's why I worry about you too."

* * *

**Korra**

* * *

Suyin Beifong spread her arms wide when the airships' ramp fell and her grandchildren trickled out of it.

"Grandma!" cried all six of the Beifong children and moved to gather her in a big group hug. Su laughed.

"I've missed you all so much!" she smiled, hugging them back. "You won't believe the spread I'm having prepared for you all. All the deserts you guys can eat. Doesn't that sound fun?"

"For who?" chuckled Aunt Opal and moved to hug her mother when the kids pulled away. "All that sugar? I've got little kids you know."

Su and Nuka's Aunt Opal came together in a tight embrace.

"Oh, sweetie I've missed you," said Su, hugging her snug.

From where Nuka stood, he could hear the smile in his aunt's voice.

"I've missed you too Mom."

"Hey, room for one more?" asked Uncle Bolin as he grabbed both his wife and mother-in-law in a big hug.

A few more greetings were exchanged, including between Su and Nuka's mother. With them, Nuka couldn't help but try to crane his neck for a bit of a listen. He wanted to know what this "business" was about. He wanted to know if he could _help_. To see if, for once, his mother didn't have to do things without him. Whatever they would talk about, he wanted to know what it was. As they all began heading toward the estate, Nuka pulled Genji and Suna back so they lagged behind with him. Specifically, he looked at Genji meaningfully and Genji smiled back wryly.

"If you're thinking what I think you're thinking..." said Genji under his breath. "Yes. Estates usually have hidden places in them. There are lots of place to hide out and eavesdrop."

Suna didn't say anything when Nuka looked over at her just as meaningfully, but she glared daggers at the two of them. He knew she would give him an earful later, but damn it all this was important to him.

"Suna, _please_," he begged her quietly. "I just want to help my mom..."

Her glare melted into a discontented scowl and she huffed.

"You need to be an earthbender, but there's usually hollow hallways in the estate walls just in case of an emergency... me and my siblings used to play in them all the time. Grandma wanted us to get used to them in case anything happened."

"Just don't let this get to my ma, okay?" whispered Genji. "I nearly had a heat stroke out there messin' with those planes."

-:-:-:-

When Su embraced her, Korra held on for an extra second to hear what Su was trying to whisper in her ear.

"We'll talk later in private," she said almost inaudibly.

Korra gave the slightest nod into her shoulder and let go. Of course, whatever it was Su needed to tell her had to be said behind closed doors. Or at least somewhere where the proverbial walls didn't have such big ears. The feeling in Korra's bones were telling her that this was going to be something she wasn't going to want to hear. It usually was when people asked if they could see her.

As they headed toward the estate grounds, Korra grinned at Su.

"It's been too long, Su," she said. "How've you been?"

"Myself?" asked Su, smiling. "Oh, the same as usual. I was so happy though when I heard that all of you were coming out. I'd only expected you, but this is much better. Not that I don't like you plenty. What about you? How have you been? I can certainly see that Nuka's shot up since the last it I saw him."

"I've been alright," said Korra. "But tell me about it. He's almost as tall as his dad now. I keep telling him I need him to get a job so he can take care of all his clothing expenses. He grows out of them so fast!"

Su laughed.

"Oh, I hear you. I had that problem with Bataar Jr. He was always tall like his father as well."

"Speaking of Bataar Jr. How's he doing these days? I never really get too much of a glimpse of him while I'm around," said Korra, curious. While she knew that this trip was mostly serious business, it was also nice to just be able to do a little bit of catching up like this. When was the last time she'd been able to leave the city to see a friend? It'd certainly been a while now that she'd given it any thought.

"Oh, he's fine. Always keeps busy. He's generally in charge of keeping Zaofu's buildings in shape. He likes it. He feels like he's helping and he does it well too."

Korra nodded.

"And people..." she began slowly. "They let him be?"

Su half-smiled back at her.

"There's always going to be people who have something to say about that, but I think he's proven himself to most. He's accepted all of that and they've generally accepted him. People are always going to talk, but it is what it is. He's come a long way since his time with Kuvira. Now, he has a wife and a daughter, but you know that. He's a different man now, Korra, and I'm proud of that. Speaking of daughter, she's _supposed_ to be here with me. She's not the kind to be late-"

As if on cue, a voice called out to them. Korra turned to see a young lady with long dark hair, tan skin and green eyes jogging up to them. She had a clipboard in hand and held it at her side when she stopped in front of them. Immediately, she bowed.

"I'm so sorry that I'm late," she said, discreetly trying to catch her breath. "Yuzu needed help finding his way to the meeting hall."

Korra blinked at the girl.

She knew that face...

...but from where?

After a moment of staring, it clicked and Korra almost gasped. She grinned wide and looked at the young lady, astonished.

"Kaguya?" she asked, surprised. "Little Kaguya Beifong?"

Kaguya nodded and held out her hand to shake, but Korra pulled her into a hug, laughing. She'd met Bataar Jr's only child and daughter ages ago and hadn't seen her in, spirits, years at this point. The girl, according from her grandparents over the years, was always doing something or busying herself over this and that just like her father and his father before him. If anything, to Korra, Kaguya sounded like Su in that light. Seeing her as this grown young lady only told Korra how much time had passed in the blink of an eye.

"Avatar Korra," chuckled Kaguya." It's so good to see you."

"Right back at you," said Korra, pulling back. "Look at you. You're all grown up! Man, you were at my shoulder the last time I saw you. I mean, you're still shorter than me, but it really has been too long. How old are you now?"

"Eighteen," she said, sighing with a smile. "My parents are always saying 'you're a young lady now'. Never let me forget it."

"Well, then you're going to have to forgive me for saying it one more time."

Su put her hands on Kaguya's shoulders.

"Everyone," she announced and Korra stepped aside to let the others see her. "This is Kaguya. Uncle Bataar's girl? I know a couple of you are too young to remember her, but she's going to take you to your rooms right about now. I want you all to get to know each other."

Kaguya looked quizzically at her grandmother.

"You're not coming with us?"

Su shook her head.

"Not quite, sweetie. Korra and I have a bit of business to take care of and I was just thinking that I'd really rather you spend some time with your cousins."

Kaguya smiled.

"You know I'd love to, but Grandma..." she began calmly. "You have that meeting. Remember? It's going to start soon. That's where I was taking Yuzu. They're all very much expecting you."

"Oh, shoot, I forgot," said Su, snapping her fingers. Kaguya gave her grandmother a knowing look as Korra sniggered. "Well, this is also kind of important. Would you mind, dear?"

Korra raised an eyebrow at Su's question.

Mind? She wondered.

"No, I don't," said Kaguya, sighing again although this time it was in slight exasperation. "But you're going to have to attend one of your meetings this week? Hm?"

"The one tomorrow is mine." Su smiled gratefully. "Thank you, sweetie. Now, after the meeting I want you to just have fun with your cousins. I'll get all the details from you later."

"That's fine," she said and turned to bow to Korra. "It was good to see you. I better get going though or I'm going to be late. I'll get to see you again a bit later though."

They bid a quick goodbye and after Kaguya left with the rest of their party, Korra turned to Su, hand on her hip.

"I don't mean to sound terrible, but... you're letting your granddaughter attend your meeting?"

Su smiled.

"Isn't it nice? Having someone else to go to your meetings for you? Besides, it's always the same old thing that they talk about. Nothing different. Quite frankly, you're more important."

Kora laughed.

"Well, thanks. Although I won't be here all the time to use as a way out. Though... Kaguya's only eighteen... she's so young."

"That she is, but she's also been job shadowing me for more than half her life now. When she was younger she used to beg me to take her to work with me and so eventually I did. She's always had a brain for this kind of thing. Even just graduated the university for government and politics."

"Sounds like Zaofu has it's next matriarch then," said Korra, nodding in approval.

Su was practically beaming now.

"I'm so proud... speaking of proud, tell me how my grandchildren have been. I hear Suna's metalbending has done well. And what about Cho's music?"

"Well, Cho still practices her music," pointed out Korra. "And her singing. She's really gifted there. I know you'd love to see her. As for Suna, yeah, her metalbending has really improved since the last time you saw her I'm sure though I haven't seen much of it myself. You know how she is."

"Yes, that's alright though," said Su fondly. "According to Lin, she always does a bangup job in training even if she doesn't apply it much in her real life. Truthfully, Huan was never much of a fighter either so it's nothing new in the family, but I'm just happy she knows how to fight at all and fight well. You never know in these times."

"Tell me about it," Korra half-groaned. "But I'm glad Lin gets a kick out of training her then. She likes to keep busy these days now that she's retired from the force. At least officially."

"Lin always keeps busy. Neither of us can really help it if I'm perfectly honest. It's something we have in common." Su laughed. "Now, how about Jun? And the boys? Opal tells me that Naoka's pranks have gotten a lot sneakier. Oh, and Linyin's gotten so big! Tell me everything Korra. I want to be all caught up by the time I see them again today."

The two of them talked for a long while as they traversed the estate grounds. She told her all about how her grandchildren were doing and how Opal and Bolin were going along with their jobs. At some point, she felt a twinge in her heart.

Opal, Bolin and _all _of their children.

When they lapsed into a short silence, she hesitated.

"Have you..." she began. "Have you heard anything?"

Su looked at her for a moment and, as if it had suddenly dawned on her, shook her head sympathetically.

"No, Korra... I'm sorry. There's been no sign of Tikaani. My security force knows to keep an eye out, but not so much as a glimpse."

And if you did you would tell me, thought Korra sadly.

There was no denying that everywhere she went she would always keep an eye out for her daughter. The sheer hope that they might just run into each other never truly died and she doubted that she would ever stop looking. She never _wanted_ to stop looking. For the most part, she tried not to think about it. As the Avatar, she didn't have the unfortunate luxury of shutting down.

The hardest part was that she had to keep moving and not stop... even when her own child was missing...

The world still went round and she couldn't stop it even if she had the literal power to.

-:-:-:-

The day passed steadily. At this point, Korra honestly _did_ feel like she was on a bit of a vacation the way she and Su were touring Zaofu. Not that Korra hadn't seen it before, but the place was always growing and she didn't mind seeing the cities newest architectural projects.

It was later that night when duty called though and she discreetly slipped into Su's office like she'd been asked to earlier. However, she was half-surprised to see the room full of people beside her and Su. Bataar Jr was there as was his father and even Kaguya. Admittedly, she was the most surprised to see Kaguya though it was starting to become inherently obvious that Kaguya was almost as steeped into the politics of Zaofu as her grandparents.

"Bataar Jr. Sr." Korra nodded her head at the younger man to which he courteously bowed his head back. His father did the same with a small smile. "It's certainly been a while, hasn't it?"

"Time flies," said Bataar Jr. "Only once you get older you wish it wouldn't. If only to give your back some relief."

Korra snorted bemusedly.

"I hear that." She brushed her nose absently. "So, down to business. What's wrong in Zaofu?"

She didn't have to school her face.

This demeanor came natural to her at this point and she'd resigned herself long ago to dancing with the politics of the world. Of course, she had no problem at all dealing with Su and the Beifongs, but politics had never been her area of expertise when she was younger and only now that she was in her forties had she really gotten used to it at all.

That being said, she was... afraid. Whatever Su had to say meant that there was something wrong in Zaofu. Somebody was doing something they weren't supposed to be and it required the Avatar's attention apparently. She'd come to realize over the years that whatever _required_ her attention was always something that she also _really_ never wanted to hear.

Folding her arms over her chest, now, she braced herself.

Su, sitting on the sofa beside her husband, gestured to her son on the sofa directly across from her.

He cleared his throat.

"As you know, Zaofu is a city almost completely made of metal. From the buildings we design to the platforms we stand on. Majority of it are different kinds of metal," he leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "As such, we have warehouses of metal. All different kinds and probably one of the greatest sources in the Earth Kingdom. These warehouses store all the metal we _reuse_ when the buildings need maintenance. It's a way we recycle. Even though the buildings are made of metal that doesn't mean they're immune to wear and tear. So, when something needs renovations or repair, we often strip it of the old metal, replace it with new metal and send the old to the warehouses to be repaired or recycled and be reused again."

"Okay." Korra nodded, listening with intent. "I'm assuming you have several warehouses around this area alone."

"Indeed," he said. "Several for different kinds of metals and different kinds of operations. It's all organized and split up and I'm in charge of keeping track of them all. Now, something I've noticed for the past few months is that we're missing a considerable amount of metal. Whenever we do our inventories the count is always off and we're _always_ missing more than is normal. In a place that reuses metal the way we do this doesn't make sense. The counts should be the same. Not going down. Understand?"

"I do..." she said. "But this sounds like you might have a thief problem or even a possible emerging black market operation. You guys know I never mind helping, but where do I come in? Why call me?"

"See... the problem is that this has been happening to _all_ of our warehouses."

Korra raised her eyebrows.

"All of them? Every single one?"

He nodded.

"Every single one of them. The thing is though that it stopped a few weeks ago. Our counts stopped going down and after a few inventory checks it seems that whatever was going on finally ceased."

Bataar Jr looked at his mother now.

"With our stores continually going down it seemed that someone, a group or whoever it was kept on taking our metal to _collect_ it," continued Su. "It only makes sense. Collecting it to sell like you said or to _make_ something."

Make something?

Make...

Korra raised her head more now as it was slowly coming together in her head. Most specifically, coming together in her head with the only other thing that'd been occupying it for the past few days. They were stealing the metal to _make_ something. To _build_ something.

Sitting next to her father, Kaguya spoke up now.

"It was me who made the connection to your mysterious attack on Air Temple Island and our missing counts. It reminded me when I used to build little metal boats with my Dad. We used the metal and designed boats, tiny buildings, little people..."

"And submarines," said Korra, locking eyes with the girl. "You built model submarines didn't you?"

"All kinds," she said quietly. "I don't see why you couldn't make actual ones. Makeshift ones operated by waterbenders like, but _better_ than the ones they used on The Day of Black Sun. I've built models of those submarines. With fine enough engineers you could easily improve on those designs. They do that very thing in the engineering department at my university. Teenagers could do it and _have_."

"Okay, okay, hang on. If this is the case, do you guys have any idea who could have done this? Why? Anything at all?" asked Korra, looking at all four of them.

"We've beefed up security and we're still investigating, but nothing as of yet," said Bataar Sr. "We wouldn't be surprised if it was an inside job with the warehouse workers. A small group who grabs a piece here and stashes away a couple here. Then, smuggle them out of the city"

Su sighed and her eyes were closed tiredly as if listening to all of this was making her head hurt. Korra knew that she didn't really want to go back to the way they used to do things. With truth seekers like Aiwei. Aiwei had fooled an entire city with his gift and personally betrayed Su. Doubtless that little sore spot was still there.

"Call it a hunch," she said, opening her eyes. "But I just don't think this is a coincidence that our stores mysteriously start losing large counts from our metal warehouses only to suddenly stop a few weeks before Air Temple Island is attacked completely out of the blue. Reportedly with submarines as choice of transportation. I believe in coincidences, but that doesn't sound right to me. Not at all."

Korra frowned and took the nearest seat she could find. It wasn't the fact that metal had been used to make submarines. There was nothing strange about stolen metal being used to make something. It was that somebody had _planned_ this. Obviously, someone had organized the attack on the island, but whoever it was had also cajoled workers all the way in Zaofu to cooperate in a careful strategy. A careful strategy to steal metal? For months?

_Why_ were people all the way in Zaofu participating in something that possibly resulted in an attack across the way in Republic City? _How__?_

Why attack Air Temple Island at all?

An operation like that took months. Not only did it take time, but it took people. How many more people were involved in this? Who had that much time? Why go through all the trouble?

What was on Air Temple Island that was so important anyway?

Nobody had been killed. Nothing taken from what was reported. Nobody had even been kidnapped.

So what was it?

Their captive hadn't talked at all so the investigation was still pretty much going on nothing. Yet, here were these two incidents that seemed connected despite how independent they looked due to their distance. It was as if someone used the distance to blur the connection.

She and Su were really only using their guts here, but it was at least worth investigating. Before she left, Korra was going to have to talk to a few of those warehouse workers and she was going to get a hold of Mako before bed so he could start looking into triad activity. Perhaps they had an ear to the streets about this.

The sheer _mystery_ of the two incidents were what connected them when Korra really thought about it. 'Why' was the question you kept asking. Unless it was by nature, two things didn't just _suddenly_ happen like that. Suddenly losing counts of metal. Suddenly stop. Sudden attack.

Sudden, sudden, sudden.

All in the span of a month?

No. Whoever was behind this wanted them to believe in coincidences.

At the moment, she only had pieces of things and a lot of questions, but she now also definitely had to figure out what was it that was so very wrong.

Nobody had been killed. Nothing taken from what was reported. Nobody had even been kidnapped.

So what was it?

Their captive hadn't talked at all so the investigation was still pretty much going on nothing. Yet, here were these two incidents that seemed connected despite how independent they looked due to their distance. It was as if someone used the distance to blur the connection.

She and Su were really only using their guts here, but it was at least worth investigating. Before she left, Korra was going to have to talk to a few of those warehouse workers and she was going to get a hold of Mako before bed so he could start looking into triad activity. Perhaps they had an ear to the streets about this.

The sheer _mystery _of the two incidents were what connected them when Korra really thought about it. 'Why' was the question you kept asking. Unless it was by nature, two things didn't just _suddenly _happen like that. Suddenly losing counts of metal. Suddenly stop. Sudden attack.

Sudden, sudden, sudden.

All in the span of a month?

No. Whoever was behind this wanted them to believe in coincidences.

At the moment, she only had pieces of things and a lot of questions, but she now also definitely had to figure out what was it that was so very wrong.

* * *

Whew, this chapter was long!

Originally, this chapter was only supposed to be from Nuka's point of view and I was going to look into more of him listening in on his mother's conversation, but I also felt like Korra's perspective in Zaofu was really important. So, I combined the two perspectives into one chapter. New to the story this chapter are Jun Toph and Kaguya. Both Beifong ladies! Jun Toph is the second child of Bolin and Opal and Suna's younger sister to which the two girls have a somewhat rocky relationship. Kaguya is Bataar Jr's daughter and quite the intellect. She's quickly rose into the world of politics at such a young age due to her connections as a Beifong and her own sheer years of dedicated work.

This chapter definitely was setting up a lot of things, including family relationships and whatever in the world is going on with the attack on Air Temple Island.

As always guys, I really love reading those reviews! With this fic it also means a particular lot to me due to the next generation nature of the fic and I greatly appreciate each and every word you take to write! They really keep me motivated and writing!

Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


	8. Korra: Metal and Lightning

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

* * *

**Korra: Metal and Lightning  
**

* * *

"That doesn't make any sense."

From the way her husband sounded over the radio, Korra knew that he was probably scratching his head in frustration. She sighed.

"I know," she said, resting her head on her hand. Even though it was fairly late and she was just about to go to bed, she also knew that Mako would very much still be up if only just to hear what she had to say before he went to bed. "That's what I said. Why set up something in Zaofu to launch an attack on Air Temple Island. What's even _on _Air Temple Island that they'd need?"

"Well, the place is important enough. It's home to diplomats and it's the unofficial airbender's capital of the world."

"I know that, but the way this was set up was so drastic. Whoever did this went to all that trouble for this one attack? And they ended up retreating? You don't start a battle like that unless you're ready to finish it."

"_I'm _still trying to figure out how they even got there to be honest. They got past the entire United Forces Navy for spirit's sake!"

Korra groaned.

"This gives me a headache. Why can't people just not create trouble for one decade?"

She could hear him sigh into the radio.

"Because it's human nature I suppose."

"I suppose..." Putting that thought aside for the moment, she smiled a little and spoke softly. "So, how was work today?"

"Oh, you know. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just putting out fires all over the city and in my own office. As usual. It was a relief to come home... at least until I saw the backyard."

"Why?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "_Please _don't tell me Tavra dug another hole."

Mako actually laughed a little.

"Yeah. He knew he got caught when I came home because he turned his tail toward me when I saw it. Don't think he cares much, but I did have to call Bolin and ask him if he could help put the dirt back in."

Korra moaned in exasperation.

"That dog... but wait," she said, blinking as she realized something. "He always get dirty when he does that. How did you clean him up without Nuka there to help you?"

"...yeah, that's a different story. I think I swallowed a little bit of soap when he shook himself off actually..."

Korra laughed.

"Now you know how your son feels."

"Alright, alright go ahead and laugh it up..." he said, amused. "Speaking of him, is he doing okay up there?"

"Yeah, he's just hanging out with his cousins. Guess I was worried for nothing, huh?"

"Not exactly nothing," he said more seriously now. "Hey... you can't beat yourself up every time Nuka gets a little upset with you. He's a kid. I know he's seventeen, but he's still a kid. He's not going to up and run away."

"You don' know that," she said in a lower tone. "We didn't think Tikaani would run away either."

"No... but we should have seen it coming too and you know that... what happened with Tikaani was very different. It was over a long period of time... You're a great mother, sweetie. You're not perfect, but nobody is and I'd say you're damn good at it. But you're also human and so is she."

Korra tried to smile, but her eyes stung at the same time.

"I love how you always do that..."

"I'm only telling you the truth," he told her consolingly.

"Not just that... the way you say _is_ instead of _was_. I think I'm always about ready to cry whenever someone talks about her like she's dead..."

There was silence over the phone and she knew that if he were with her right now then he would scoop her up into a big hug and kiss her temple in that sweet way that she loved so much. Korra had been through a lot of things: having Raava ripped out of her, being captured, poisoned. You name it.

But _nothing_ could have compared to the heartbreak of when she'd come home to find a portion of her daughter's ponytail all tied up and neatly laying on her bed, having seemingly been cut off and left in a sort of farewell. Her heart cracked with every empty drawer she'd opened and a certain panic threatened to overwhelm her when she'd looked on top of the dresser drawer to see all of the pictures of their family faced down... as if Tikaani had no longer wanted to look at them when she'd gathered her things and left.

The only picture that wasn't faced down was the one with her and Nima in it. That one was gone.

"We're going to find her, sweetie," said Mako, snapping Korra out of her thoughts as she heard his own voice begin to crack. "We'll look our whole lives if we have to. She's out there _somewhere_."'

Korra didn't say anything, letting his words of reassurance reach her so maybe she'd have some peace in her sleep tonight.

"I love you," she said finally.

"I love you too. Please be careful out there."

"I will. You do the same. Good night."

"Sleep tight."

When he hung up, she just sat in the chair for a moment and breathed. Every moment of the day there was always some urge beneath her skin to go out into the world and find her missing baby. But two things always stopped her:

First of all, she was the Avatar. She always had to remember that even if she tried not to let it consume her identity these days. The fact of the matter was that she had duties to the world. Secondly, she had a son. Not that she blamed Nuka in any way, shape or form, but if it'd just been her and Mako then the two of them would have set out. Just damn the city politics. However, they could not and would not drag Nuka around the world like that. Especially when it was clear that their daughter had _run away_. Tikaani probably didn't even want to be found though there were nights that Korra could pretend that wasn't true. This was not one of those nights.

Getting up, Korra stretched her body out. She rolled her shoulders, trying to undo the kinks in her muscles and winced a little at the ache in her lower back as she climbed into bed.

That night, she dreamt of amber eyes and long, black hair.

-:-:-:-

The next morning, Korra set out to work.

She ate breakfast with the Beifongs only to learn that Suyin would be unavailable for most of the day. Apparently, all those meetings she'd been missing out on lately were finally catching up with her and today she was going to be drowning in them.

"I see," said Korra, nodding. "Well, that's okay. I'll just head out to check out the warehouses myself. I've been around enough to figure out where things are."

"Oh, no. Not by yourself." said Bataar Sr, shaking his head.

Suddenly puzzled, Korra raised an eyebrow as she was about to take a bite of her rice.

"Don't get us wrong, Avatar," he said reassuringly. "We trust you plenty. We just think it'll be better if you have someone who knows the place and can vouch for your presence a little bit... you _are _investigating criminal activity after all. Probably best not to tip people off."

"True, but I'm going to be snooping around their workplaces. Won't that be suspicious enough?"

Down the table next to his wife, Bataar Jr leaned forward slightly to look at Korra.

"Not necessarily," he said. "To them it seems perfectly reasonable to have the Avatar tour the city. A formality if you will. Others will wonder of course. It's those people you're going to want to keep an eye out for."

Korra nodded, understanding what he was saying.

"I see," she said. "Weed out the nervous and those who are the most suspicious. Then we can pull them aside later on."

"Exactly. If they don't know anything then they won't start sweating. An operation like that had to have at least a dozen people in on it. At least one of them has to get a little nervous."

"Enough to slip up?"

The younger Bataar nodded in agreement.

"In that case," began Korra. "Who's going with me?"

"Kaguya, of course," he said as if that was the most common sense thing in the world. "She knows those places inside and out. I normally have her lead the inspection on the northern end warehouses since I tend to be too short on time to get to them. They're used to her being there and she won't rattle things too much. Now if, say, my father or I were to go down there with you then we might make the whole lot of them think that they're in trouble. They don't see us as much as they see her."

Korra sighed as she finished her breakfast.

"If we tip them off then they might end up ditching town."

"We're on the same page," he said approvingly and went to take a sip of tea. "Kaguya's going to meet you in front of city hall after she's finished conferring with one of of the councilman about the city budget. Mom had one too many meetings booked today."

-:-:-:-

"Hey, Mom," said Nuka, catching up with her just after breakfast. "Maybe I can come with you today?"

Korra smiled sadly and shook her head, absently moving to fix one of the clasps in his hair.

"Sorry, sweetheart. I have to go check out some things in the city," she said. "Avatar business, you know? It's not exactly going to be any fun."

"That's fine. Maybe I can help," he said, putting a hand on his hip. "Just to tag along even?"

She shook her head again.

"Sorry, son. I can't. It's really serious stuff and I don't want you getting mixed up in that."

"Mom, I can be another pair of extra eyes," he said as is trying to keep the pleading out of his voice. "Not just for any nervous workers too. I can keep an eye out for anybody who might be taking any metal out. I can just kind of roam around on my own... maybe..."

Kora immediately frowned and she knew she'd caught him in something the way his voice trailed off and he visibly grimaced.

"How do you know about that?" she asked, narrowing her eyes.

"I, uh..."

"Nuka were you _eavesdropping_ on my conversation with Su last night?" she demanded. "Tell me the truth right now."

His shoulders hunched at the tone in her voice, then slouched in resignation. He sighed.

"Yes... I did," he crossed his arms now and looked away. "I was just passing by-"

"Passing by _my foot_. Nuka, this is _exactly_ why I didn't want to bring you!" She rubbed her face restlessly. "You shouldn't be listening in on my private conversations when it comes to my Avatar business!"

"I know, but Mom I can _help_-"

She put a hand up to silence him and actually growled in frustration, rubbing the bridge of her nose now. Spirits, she was getting a headache.

Why couldn't her son just listen to her for once? Why couldn't he just do her a favor and not put himself into danger like that? Did he not realize that as the Avatar the things she got into were _inherently_ risky? She had no idea where this was all leading to and she did _not_ want him to get mixed up in anything where his life might end up in danger.

Damn it, she would not _allow it__._

"Nuka I am trying to _protect_ you," she said, turning to him now and putting her hands on his elbows. "Don't you understand what it would do to me and your father if something happened to you?"

"Mom," he began, just as frustrated now and jerking his elbows out of her grip. "Nothing is going to happen to me-"

"You don't know that and, _please_, Nuka don't let us find out! _Please_. I'm your _mother_. It's my job to protect you by any means necessary and until you have a child of your own then you don't understand the position I'm in right now. Your father as well. You don't understand the things you're messing around with. We've been doing this for years already so we have the experience to jump in and handle things when they get rough, but you don't! Now, I am _telling_ you that you are _forbidden_ to get involved in my Avatar business. It is _dangerous_ and I won't let you. Do you understand?"

Her son looked at her now, his expression crossed between furious, hurt and confused. She hated it when he looked at her like that, but right now she could not care. Her son's safety mattered to her more than anything in the moment and he didn't understand just how dangerous knowledge could be.

"You know I'm not _just_ your son, right? I'm worth a little more than just the Avatar's son," he said darkly, turning to leave.

She reached out to him.

"Nuka, I never said anything like that-"

"Forget it. Just go do whatever it is you have to do."

He jerked his arm away and left.

Korra sighed, rubbing her temples and forcibly trying not to cry as she headed down to city hall. She had to admit that Mako was right. Just because Nuka got mad at her didn't mean she was wrong. It was just... she _hated_ it when her were children mad at her and she would have been a damn liar if she said that Tikaani's leave hadn't made that worse.

Of course, it's not like her two children had gotten along very well with _each other_ before Tikaani left either. Korra hadn't _wanted_ to take sides and spirits knew that she loved her children _equally_. It was just that Tikaani was such a lethal fighter and whenever she and Nuka got into it about who knows what...

Her thoughts had thoroughly drifted off by the time she got down to city hall and only when somebody tapped her shoulder did she stop walking. Kaguya stood there now, a slightly puzzled and amused look on her face.

"Busy morning, Avatar?" asked Kaguya, smiling sympathetically.

"Oh, yes... something like that," she sighed. "Anyway. You can call me Korra if you'd like. No need to be so formal about it."

"Thank you," said Kaguya. "So, we probably should get started. There are three northern warehouses. One for copper, silver and platinum. Guess which one had the most counts missing?"

"Can't bend platinum so I'm going to pick that one," said Korra as they began to walk toward a nearby green satomobile.

"Bingo," said Kaguya, getting into the driver's seat. "Our platinum stores were missing quite a bit and that's another thing that tipped me off to the whole submarine thing. If someone happened to discover them then they don't have to worry about that said someone being able to bend the submarines apart. Leaves their choice of transportation less susceptible to being sabotaged."

"Makes sense," nodded Korra, climbing into the passenger's seat. "We should head to the platinum warehouse then first. That way no... one... will..."

She trailed off when she caught the view of a young man with dark hair and yellow eyes about Kaguya's age in the rear view mirror, smiling at her and waving casually.

"Uh..." She blinked at the young man. "Hi?"

Kaguya glanced up in the mirror while she started the car, turning to flash a smile at Korra as she drove off.

"Korra, meet Tora. He's coming with us."

Tora looked at the back of Kaguya's head, unimpressed.

"I'm _just_ Tora. Don't worry about me. I'm not her assistant, best friend and general sanity keeper in her day to day life. Of course not."

Kaguya snickered.

"_Excuse me._" Kaguya smiled as if pleased with herself. "Tora is my best friend, newly part of the my family's security force and kind of my assistant. He "bodyguards" me though in reality he just accompanies me and helps with all my duties."

"And I help keep her sanity."

"Most of the time," she quipped. "Sometimes he's apart of it with all his whining like he does."

"I'm offended over here."

"That was the point. Now are you going to properly introduce yourself to the Avatar or do I have to teach you manners as well?"

Actually slightly taken aback, Tora turned toward Korra, pink in the cheeks.

"Nice to meet you, Avatar Korra. Sorry about that. I kind of can't help myself sometimes," he said sheepishly. "I get comfortable a little too fast at times."

"No worries," she said, smiling at him in greeting. "It's nice to meet you."

After introductions, Kaguya and Tora began talking about the various workers she personally suspected from each of the warehouses though, truthfully, Korra found it somewhat hard to concentrate on what they were saying. While she got the gist of it, her argument with Nuka was weighing in the back of her mind. Something was going to have to be done about this situation with him, but for now she had to try and keep her mind on task.

"Ruen's never been terribly excited about his job," drawled Tora, looking at Kaguya's clipboard in his hand now. "I can imagine he'd want a bit of excitement. Not much older than we are, no family and all the time in the world? Not to mention a bad attitude _and_ he doesn't care for your dad, Cogs."

Korra frowned in confusion and looked at Kaguya. Sighing, Kaguya scratched her nose momentarily.

"He means like the machine part?" she explanaed, her cheeks pink now. "You know, Kaguya. Cogs? It's a nickname he picked for me years ago and just... just ignore it."

"She thinks it's stupid and it's the only thing that gets her to blush," added Tora, grinning. "So, I have to keep doing it. Cogs and bolts is the whole name, but that's too lo-"

"_Tora_. You're talking to Avatar and we're supposed to be serious. If not, I'm going to go drop you off at my Dad's and he's going to make you actually work."

"He'd return me. I give him a headache he says."

Korra blinked. After a moment, she couldn't help herself and burst into laughter. Both Kaguya and Tora looked at her for a second, startled.

"Er... Avatar Korra?" began Tora. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah," she said, laughing a little through her words. "It's just that I had a pretty sour morning and I guess I just thought that was funny. Kaguya, I think he's right. I've known your dad for a while. He's a pretty serious guy."

Her turn to blink now, Kaguya then smiled as she turned back to the road.

"Don't I know it? We're all super busy, but my dad's always at some project like he's got something to prove. You know how it is."

Tora leaned forward and clapped Kaguya on the shoulder gently.

"That's why fate brought me to them. Universe thought they needed a bit of a wild card in their lives."

Kaguya sighed again.

"Oh, be quiet you clown."

-:-:-:-

Despite their earlier display, Kaguya and Tora turned out to work together quite well. Better than Korra thought they would have certainly. In reality, Tora knew how to talk to the workers, apparently having been one of the warehouse workers himself before deciding to join the Beifong's security detail. They visited all the warehouses, having the best luck, fortunately, down at the platinum warehouses. Now in Bataar Jr's office after Kaguya had let them in, Tora easily pointed out the few fellows he thought were acting the funniest with the Avatar suddenly around.

"Fuha in the back there kept on glancing back and was awfully talkative when we introduced you to him. I mean, it's not a big deal, but he's usually pretty focused on what he's doing so I'd go ahead and put him down as someone who might be in on it."

"What about that one guy from the copper warehouse? The one who nearly sparked something trying to fix the wiring in the floor when we walked by?" asked Korra.

Tora shook his head, making a face.

"Nah, that's just Guo. He's a real klutz. Spirits only know how he got maintenance position. I told Kaguya's dad he might not have been the best for the job..."

"He seems to think the guy needed something else to do other than operating large machinery," said Kaguya, not taking her eyes away from the list of names on her clipboard. "Especially after Guo nearly hit him with that crane... I don't trust Mihai."

"Really?" asked Tora, frowning at her. "You honestly think he'd risk his job? Guy's got a family of seven..."

"Exactly," said Kaguya frankly. "He's desperate and easily swayed by the prospect of money. He's worked in the warehouses for over five years now and he's used the same uniforms that entire time. I noticed that he bought all uniforms recently. Family of seven and he's suddenly replacing _all_ of his old uniforms? I don't buy that."

"You don't think he just maybe saved up?" asked Korra.

"He's also had a recent injury I know and had to pay medical bills. So, hardly."

"Good eye," said Korra. "Okay then, well I don't trust the manager at the silver warehouse. He's real shady."

"You think so?" asked Tora, glancing between the two women. "Leng's worked for the warehouses for over twenty years. Then again, maybe that's the problem."

"Yep. Besides, he was _really_ happy meeting me," said Korra, putting a hand on her hip. "So happy, in fact, that he seemed to nearly jump out of his suit wanting to give me a tour of the warehouse and get us all out of his office. How much do you want to bet that he's got correspondence in there with whoever's behind this?"

Neither Tora nor Kaguya answered her for a moment, Tora rubbing his chin and Kaguya pressing the round end of her pen to her lips in thought.

"We should have someone sneak in to his office tonight and raid it," said Kaguya finally. "If he has correspondence then he'll have it hidden somewhere where he thinks we won't be able to see it. I'm not a bender, but my Uncle Wei or Uncle Wing could easily get in without being seen and check the place with their seismic sense. I agree with Korra. He was our fish out of water there. Probably got a little spooked when he heard that the Avatar was suddenly in town and then, lo and behold, you show up at his office doorsteps."

Tora thought about it for a moment.

"Agreed," he said. "If he's got nothing to hide then we won't have anything to expose or question him about. I hate to just go crawling into another man's privacy, but it's a matter of security."

Korra nodded in finality.

"It can't be helped."

"I have to go head off a town meeting right now, but as soon as that's over I'll go and have a talk with my grandmother and uncles. In the meantime, Tora, I know you have patrol duty to get to now so be prioritizing the suspect list mentally and then get back to me as soon as your relieved. That'll help if we put our heads together in case Leng leads to a dead end."

"Already on it." He turned toward the Avatar and bowed now, a lot more formal than he'd been previously. "Avatar Korra. It was an honor. I hope to work with you again."

Korra bowed back slightly.

"You as well."

When Tora left, she turned to Kaguya who was still examining what was on her clipboard.

"He's quite a character, isn't he?" asked Korra, amused.

Kaguya glanced up briefly as she scratched something out, smiling.

"He is, but I suppose we all need a friend who annoys the daylights out of us, right? At least, that's what he thinks."

Immediately, Korra thought of Mako when they'd first met. She laughed a little.

"I think he's right. I married mine... is Tora...?"

"More than a friend?" asked Kaguya, glancing up again in acknowledgment. "Yes. He's my soul mate."

"Oh." Korra raised her eyebrows as if she'd stumbled about something maybe she shouldn't have. "If you don't mind me asking... do you two have feelings for each other?"

"Not romantically. He challenges me, keeps me awake, he's there for me when I don't know I need someone to be..." She chuckled, seemingly recalling something. "I still remember this one time when I hadn't slept all night and I was working on all this homework. He came over and the only thing I can really recall is him tucking me into bed and then when I woke up he was on my last bit of homework I was supposed to finish. I was actually a bit mad at him because it was _my_ homework, but he insisted that my sleep was more important than 'drivel that I wasn't going to remember in a couple weeks' in his opinion. Then he made me tea."

"Yeah, that definitely reminds me of my husband," said Korra, crossing her arms bemusedly. "He's always got to be making sure I'm eating and getting enough sleep. I keep telling him it's going to make him grey and he always just tells me that he'd rather go grey from that than anything else."

Kaguya, finally pulling herself away from her clipboard, smiled wide.

"It's nice to be honest... when someone kind of takes care of you even when you don't want it right then. I mean, yes, Tora is more than a friend. After all the years we've shared together I insist that he's my soul mate. He has to be. It's the only explanation for two people like us to grow together after so many years. He's my best friend and we don't feel any kind of _romantic_ love for each other, but he's still my soul mate."

Korra blinked at Kaguya, then smiled at the way the younger woman said that with such simple, unrippled confidence.

"That's wonderful," said Korra as they began to leave the office. "I'm happy for you two."

-:-:-:-

At dinner, Korra was relieved to see Nuka give her a tentative smile. She kissed him on the cheek as she took her seat. It wasn't the time to talk about it, but they would have to reach some kind of agreement. Perhaps tomorrow after she'd had a talk with Mako. She had a feeling this was going to have to be something they decided as a team. Something she'd realized while she was out with Kaguya was the fact that Nuka was only _a year younger than she was_. Here was her son, a year younger than the young woman who was helping her investigate a smuggling operation, and Korra had to fight him on whether or not he could even come to Zaofu with her in the first place.

He was young, but... not so anymore...

He wasn't her little boy anymore...

After dinner, she was heading to her room when she ran into Bolin and Opal talking in the hallway. It'd just hit Korra that she'd actually barely talked to anyone outside of Bataar Jr and Kaguya all day.

"Hey, you two," she greeted. "Having fun?"

"Hey." Bolin grinned and clapped her on the shoulder when she joined them. "Not having as much fun as you've been having all day today. Man, I haven't seen you since breakfast."

Korra sighed.

"Yeah... lots of stuff to do. Investigating. You know. The normal thing we've been doing for like twenty years?"

Opal laughed a bit.

"Honestly, I feel kind of bad. Here we are on this vacation while you're handling Avatar duties. I feel like we should be helping you out."

"Nah." Korra shook her head, hand on her hip as she rested her weight on one leg. "You guys came to see your family. Don't get me wrong. I like Zaofu, but I'm also here because I _have_ to be. You guys make that more fun. Anyway, speaking of fun, the kids having any?"

"For the most part," said Bolin. "They spent the day with grandpa while we went out shopping for a bit. Met up with them later. Though the girls are still sour toward each other. Well, the girls except Linyin."

"Still?" Korra raised her eyebrows. "You know, I never had siblings, but I'd imagine they would have let it go already."

"They have," said Bolin. "But it's just a bit awkward for them right now. Even though it wasn't anything serious, I think they both feel bad about making the other feel bad. It always gets like that when it comes to Suna and Jun."

Opal smiled sadly, nodding.

"Sometimes they're just like that. Those two have a lot of feelings when it comes to each other. Sisters and all and being so different. I never had any myself, but... I don't know. Linyin's too young to really have that going on with them so the sisterly conflict really gets heated between those two... often enough. It's more than they just drive each other nuts. It's like... they love each other, but the water and oil thing can get really intense with them."

"Yeah, I feel that..." Korra went silent for a moment, thinking. "Right now, I feel like my son and I are like that. I keep having this same discussion with him about how he can't get involved in my Avatar business and he just gets all upset. Then I get upset because, _spirits__, __I just want to protect him_."

"Man, do I hear that," Bolin and Opal turned with her to keep walking down the hallway and toward their rooms. "Kids, man. You have no idea how many times I've had to berate Naoka over pranks that go a little too far. I know he's eight and Nuka's seventeen, but-"

"-but _kids__,_" Opal groaned.

"_They just won't flameo fucking listen_," finished Korra, vexated enough for the night.

After bidding Opal and Bolin a goodnight, Korra was headed off to her rooms finally when someone half her height turned the corner and ran straight into her. Korra caught Jun to keep her from falling and frowned slightly down at her.

"Hey, kiddo. Where're you going? It's just about bedtime, isn't it?" asked Korra.

Jun smiled awkwardly, cheeks pink and obviously having been caught in something she didn't want to be.

"Yeah, I know," she said, glancing up. "I just have to go do something."

"Yeah?" Korra got down on one knee to get eye level with her niece. "What's that? Would it be okay if you told me?"

Jun looked at her, mouth twisted as if deciding. Finally, she dug into her pocket and pulled out a simple black chain with a metal pendant heart on it. Korra took it gingerly, examining it and then gave it back to Jun.

"I... was going to give it to someone..." Jun looked away then back. "I was going to give it to Suna."

Hearing that, Korra smiled.

"Oh, really? That's really nice. Just wanna give your sister a gift?"

Jun nodded, looking at the pendant instead of her aunt now.

"I wanted to give it to her is all..." said Jun, playing with the pendant.

"Make her feel better?" prodded Korra.

Jun nodded, then stuck her palm out with the pendant resting in her hand.

"Auntie Korra, you can metalbend, right?"

"That I can." Korra stood up now, arms crossed over her chest loosely.

"Then would you be able to bend this into a star instead? She already has a heart one, but not a star one. She likes stars better anyway... can you do that?"

Korra, touched at the gesture, smiled warmly and took the necklace from Jun.

"Of course I can," she said gently. She bended the metal in between her hands and shaped the pendant from a heart to a glinting, six pointed star, then handed it back to Jun. "There we go. How's that?"

Smiling wide, Jun looked at it as if she had done it herself. Or rather, Korra knew that it would be because she was proud of the gift she would give her older sister.

"It's perfect," she said and moved forward to hug Korra. "Thank you."

Korra hugged her back.

"Anytime. You better go give it to her though and then hop into bed. It's getting late."

"I will," said Jun happily, then looked at the necklace again in focus."I don't want her to feel bad or anything. I just hate it when she gets all worked up about me probending. I don't know. I can't stand that. I love her, but she doesn't believe in me. You know?"

Korra stared at Jun, somewhat taken aback and nodding slowly as she took in the words.

"I... do..."

Now it was her turn to look at the ground. She thought of Nuka and his hurt when she'd forbidden him to get involved in her Avatar business, but she never wanted him to think that he was nothing more than the Avatar's son. He _wasn't_ just her son, after all... just like he'd said. Of course, he would always be her baby, but perhaps...

She remembered what it was like when she felt like being Avatar was more important than being Korra. How people believed in her Avatar title, but not _her_ and when she was going through one of the roughest times in her life and trying to heal, _Korra_ had to be the one healed for the Avatar to even be able to do her duties.

Perhaps she had to get her point across to him better.

I do believe in _you_, Nuka, she thought to herself tiredly. It's just that as your mother I'm always afraid something's going to happen to you.

She was going to have to tell him that. Exactly that and she had to do it tonight.

"Thanks again, Auntie Korra," said Jun, giving her another quick hug before running off. "Night!"

Korra waved as she left, then turned to go find Nuka before he went to bed.

-:-:-:-

"Leave him be, you idiot. He's dead."

"Are you always this grumpy?"

The girl almost grit her teeth. She did not have the time nor the patience for his stupid questions. They had a job to do and she just wanted to hurry up and get it over with.

Another girl with brown hair in large pigtails stood nearby, checking the pulse of a white lotus guard slumped – presumably dead – at her feet. She shot a look over at the young man who spoke as she stood up.

"Namada, stop it. Tease her later," she hissed at him. "We need to get this done quickly. 'fore the relief shift comes by."

The young man, a strange, smirking fellow with unnaturally white hair and sickly pale skin, smiled at her, his blue eyes glinting wickedly.

"I'm just having a bit of fun, Gurana," said Namada, rolling up overly long sleeves. "It's been a while since we've been let out. Just enjoying myself."

"Enjoy yourself on another time," said the first girl coldly. "Let's go."

Gurana looked over her shoulder at the dead guards laid dead along the mountain's entrance as she joined their defacto leader. Just as unnerving as Namada in looks, one simply couldn't get over the very real cracks in her skin. They weren't like cracks of dry skin, but rather of dry earth. As if she'd tattooed the designs of split earth on barren lands across her body in vein-thin lines.

They took the elevator down and came to a cave where a large metal door situated between two industrial sized metal chains stood on the other side. Approaching it, Gurana yanked the door wide open like it was nothing, revealing a second metal door and then subsequently also yanking that one open once they'd crossed the first door.

Inside those doors was a cave and inside the cave was an old man, body folded into the lotus position, floating in the middle of the air and bound to the floor by shackles at his wrists and ankles. The old man opened his eyes.

"I haven't had a real visitor since the Avatar last came to see me over twenty years ago. This must be my lucky day."

"Depends on what you mean by _lucky_."

"Gurana, if your brother opens his mouth again I'm going to electrocute him," said the first girl frankly.

"Namada, _shut up_," growled Gurana. "Don't make me your keeper today."

Namada went silent and the three of them only stared at the old man floating in the air.

"So, you're Zaheer," said Gurana quietly. "You're the big bad that thrust the entire Earth Kingdom into chaos and caused all the wars? The floating's impressive, but you sure don't look like much."

Surprisingly, Zaheer frowned.

"That would be me," he said and actually spoke directly to the other girl down below and in front of him. "Your companions have a hard time staying quiet, don't they?"

"They do," said the girl. "Thank you for noticing the problem."

"So, let's see here..." he began, closing his eyes again. "Who must you be. I see the two behind you... I've heard of you and the rumors are true apparently. Only old men and women have ever been heard to have hair and skin like you two. But here you are barely twenty years old it seems. Interesting."

"You sure talk a lot," mumbled Namada, surely rolling his eyes.

Zaheer ignored him.

"And as for you... I know exactly who you are. I can look at you and see them. Your parents helped put me in here almost twenty five years ago... now, the question is _why_ are you here? But I already have my guesses. Your boss is afraid I'm going to warn the Avatar, isn't he? With my connection into the spirit world... but the Avatar and I have never been friends. I'm indeed the last person she wants to hear anything from... thought I'm sensing this is a little personal, as well? Sore at the hand I had in his current situation? His fear of me contacting the Avatar gives him a reason, doesn't it?"

"You sound like you're prepared for death," Gurana said loftily. "If you guessed all that then why stay? Why not flit off into the spirit world?"

"I suppose I was curious," said Zaheer, still not opening his eyes.

"Curious? I-"

"It's also ironic." Zaheer cut Gurana off. He actually smiled, chuckling a little. "The Avatar put me in here and now her daughter is going to be the death of me. Is it justice? Fate? Or mere coincidence? Who knows, but I do indeed find it ironic and _very_ interesting. Poetic even."

There was silence in the room, Gurana and Namada seemingly having shut their mouths to let Tikaani speak.

Tikaani stood there, a muscled girl with long black hair mostly pulled into a high ponytail and intense amber eyes. She only stared up at Zaheer as if waiting on him.

The silence was broken by Zaheer's slow winding laughter, the rasp in his deep voice becoming somewhat apparent. When his laughter died down, he snorted.

"Let's get this over with," he told her.

"Let's," said Tikaani and she wound up her arms in a stance to strike, sparks of lightning flashing at her fingertips.

* * *

Wow, so this chapter was awfully long, but there was a lot going on.

So, Tikaani's first real appearance...! Aaaaaand she kills Zaheer in his prison along with her two odd companions, brother and sister, Namada and Gurana. Zaheer came out of left field let alone his death. Now, we wait for the news to reach Korra...

The thing about Zaheer just kind of accepting death - almost inviting it - is that he's been stuck under a mountain for about 25 years with the knowledge to stew on that his best friends are dead, the love of his life is dead, he directly spearheaded the Kuvira disaster and he can fly, but is bound in chains _underneath a mountain with nowhere to go_. For twenty five long years. I know he's been to prison before and he spends most of his time in the spirit world, but at the same time he knows he's got nowhere to go and, quite frankly, with everybody important to him dead it's like he's got nothing to really lose. Twenty-five years with the guilt of your loved ones death on your shoulders changes a man. As does inherent aging. I can also imagine him being very curious about the after life. So, in short, he's almost like 'here we go into a new chapter' kind of deal at this point in his life.

Also new is Tora, Kaguya's best friend who was here to help with the investigation into the strange metal warehouses missing counts. Mysteries abound and hidden webs, folks!

I want to thank all those who are reading this and are still reading this. It really means a whole lot and knowing this is being read really make my day.

As always, guys I love reading those reviews! They keep me motivated and really keep me writing to get the next chapter out faster! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


	9. Korra: Murder in the Dark

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

* * *

**Korra: Murder in the Dark  
**

* * *

Korra's talk with Nuka ended up being rather beneficial for them both. It felt good to have a heart to heart about her fears for him even if he challenged them from time to time. She promised him that she was going to have a talk with his father as soon as she could, but also couldn't help express some of her deeper concerns as well.

"Mom, I'm always going to be your son," he said gently. "And I _promise, _I'm not going to go anywhere. If I have any real problems I'm going to come talk to you guys. It's just... you know. Like you said, I'm growing up. I want to be apart of what you guys do. I'm your kid after all."

Korra smiled.

"I know, sweetheart... I know. It's hard though. Watching you get older and taller and knowing that... you're not going to really need us anymore one day."

"Not true." Nuka actually put his arm around her. "Mom, I know it's cliché, but I'm always going to need you. You taught me how to heal with my waterbending, how to throw a good punch-"

Korra laughed, recalling how Mako insisted she was better for that job.

"-and even how to ride a polar bear dog. And how many kids can say their mom tucked them into bed with a story about the first Avatar and _she was technically there for it_."

"For the record, a lot of people know that story nowadays," she pointed out.

"Point is," he said. "I'm always going to come to you and Dad for things. Maybe not as much, but sometimes I just need you there because I want you to be."

Looking at her boy, Korra sighed to herself and pulled him into a hug.

"You always were a little sweetheart," she whispered, kissing his cheek as he pulled away.

"Can't help it I guess," he shrugged with a smile. "Now... can I go to sleep? I had to give Jun and Naoka piggy back rides for half the day and I'm beat."

"Of course you can," she said, ruffling his hair as she got up to leave. "I love you."

"Love you too, Mom. Night."

"Sleep tight."

-:-:-:-

The night was still and, yet, Korra was more or less awake. She'd gotten a few hours of sleep, but an awry nightmare about a dragon devouring her children whole was simply not having it. It was one of the stranger – and more frightening – dreams she'd had in the last year. Then again, it'd been a long day combined with her talk with Nuka and her constant thoughts about Tikaani...

She shrugged it off.

She was beginning to drift off back to sleep, letting her body mold into the mattress and reminding herself that she needed to rest if she was going to be on top of her game tomorrow. Years of motherhood had taught her how to operate without as much of it as she'd like, but she was so used to Mako urging her to rest that there was a nagging feeling she tended to get when she wasn't. Then again, he often went without sleep himse-

Wait.

What was _that _she was hearing_?_

Was that... was that her _doorknob_ turning?

Naga, asleep on the floor at the foot of the bed, began to stir, but Korra quickly whispered for her to stay down. Her thoughts went back to over twenty years ago when the Red Lotus tried to kidnap her out of her room right here in Zaofu. Now, with those memories fresh in her mind, her body was wound up tight.

Then again...

Perhaps it was just one of the kids..?

But the kids had their parents. They wouldn't come to her first. In fact, they'd probably even go to Nuka before they went to her.

While at first she thought it might have been her imagination, the door actually opened up and someone was doing their very best to stay quiet. She couldn't even hear the padding of feet. Against her own instincts, Korra laid still and closed her eyes just enough so she could barely see out of them.

When a shadowy figured appeared over her, she – hoping that this wasn't someone she knew just innocently paying her a visit – shot out a hand, grabbing the figure by the throat. Whoever this was, a man by the looks of their shape, was clad in... an all black garb...?

She immediately thought of Air Temple Island, but her attention then went straight to the knife her attacker had raised over her. Half-disoriented, Korra barely had time to react. The assailant brought the knife down, grazing her forearm as she threw them aside onto the ground. It was like electricity had shot through her as she leaped out of bed and all her senses sprang to life. Now, Naga was up and pounced on them before they could get off the ground, snarling and baring the weight of her front legs onto them.

"Who are you!?" demanded Korra, raising her voice and ready to strike in case they pulled anything.

Before she could get an answer, she heard noise and the shouts of a struggle outside her door. Mildly panicked, she immediately moved and yanked it open.

In the hall, Bolin had apparently broken their door throwing someone straight through it. On the ground near him, Opal was wrestling with someone else who was apparently trying to strangle her with some kind of rope. Before Korra could even move a foot, Bolin had grabbed the attacker on his wife and threw them them clear across the hall, chucking them onto the ground right on top of the one he'd thrown through the door.

"Bolin! Opal!" Korra rushed up to them. "What hap- are you guys okay?"

"We're fine," said Opal, her voice raspy and rubbing her throat. Bolin helped her onto her feet. "Are you?"

"I'm fine," said Korra quickly. She looked at the two black-clad attackers laying the ground.. "Naga's holding down one of those guys in my room."

"You too?" asked Bolin incredulously.

"Yeah, I happened to be kind of awake and heard someone comin-"

Suddenly, there was a crash and their heads whipped toward the direction of the noise.

The kids, Korra realized and her heart skipped a quick beat.

Without another word, the three of them sprinted down the hall and around the corner, Korra yanking Opal back when a chunk of ice flew right by.

Looking in the direction it came from, Korra watched Nuka turn his back on them and pull the water out of a nearby vase, turning it into a whip. Next to him, Jun was pulling chunks out of the wall and throwing them at someone running at her with a metal bended into a blade. Stepping in front of her, Nuka lashed his whip out at them, grabbing them by the neck and yanking them into the ground head first.

"Nuka!" Korra ran up to him, Opal and Bolin behind her and immediately surrounding Jun.

"Sweetie, are you okay?" asked Bolin, getting on one knee to look her over. "Are you hurt?"

Jun shook her head though she rolled her shoulder around while she did it.

"What happened?" sighed Opal, sounding mildly relieved.

"I was sleeping, but Kanane was going nuts outside my window," began Nuka, still in a fighting stance as he faced the shadows. "I got up and and somebody threw themselves on me-"

Eyes widening, Korra finally noticed the growing dark stain on his shoulder. It almost wasn't noticeable with his hair partially covering it against the grey of his shirt, but the knife her own attacker tried to use on her flashed in her mind.

"You're bleeding! Sweetheart, we need to cover that up," she said, moving to heal him, but he shook his head fervently.

"Later! Let's take care of these guys!" He threw a chunk of ice at another attacker running around the corner, bending part of the wall at them. They dropped their piece of earth when Nuka hit them in the shoulder and Bolin bended it up into the air, dropping it onto the assailant's back.

"Damn it, I'd wish they'd quit pulling the wall out. These idiots are going to bring the roof down on us," growled Nuka.

"Nuka, where's Suna and the kids?" asked Opal, looking around anxiously.

"Kids are in my room with Kanane! He and Genji are keeping them safe! Suna's around the corner!" he told her, ready to face two more benders, one grabbing pieces of the wall off the ground and the other getting into an airbender's stance. "She's all by herself!"

Watching as Opal and Bolin were once again occupied by yet two more assailants who'd suddenly come out of the shadows, Korra grit her teeth and ran round around the corner where she could hear more noise. True to his words, Suna stood knees bent, facing two other fighters and several large scraps of metal from decorations that used to adorn the hallway walls raised in each hand. Korra came up beside her, kicking a piece of the ground at one of her opponents.

"Auntie Korra," breathed Suna.

"Are you okay?" asked Korra, eyes still on their opponents who seemed to be pacing back and forth in hesitation. One of them took that piece of earth Korra kicked and hurled it at Suna. Getting in front of her, Korra split the chunk in two and hurled it right back at them, actually hitting one of them in the chest. Taking her opening, Suna sidestepped around her aunt now and lunged to toss one of the metal pieces at the other. Her piece cut right in their shoulder as they were dodging the chunk Korra had thrown at them.

"I'm fine. Another one was cutting me off from everyone else," said Suna, gesturing with her free hand to another opponent crumpled in the corner. "But these guys aren't all that good..."

"Nice job anyway," said Korra, now surging forward with a good roundhouse kick that sent a gust of air at their attacker and straight into a door, they too crumpling to the ground. Looking around for a moment to make sure nobody else was surrounding them, Korra stood up straighter now. "Lin's taught you well."

"I was kind of hoping I'd never have to use it," she said, not yet putting down the metal she was bending. "Is everyone else okay? What about grandma and the rest of the family?"

"We've barely had the chance. Let's go check right now," said Korra, going back around the corner with her to where the others were.

Almost tripping over a pile of groaning bodies, Korra looked up to see Nuka crouching next to Jun, wrapping her shoulder with glowing water.

"Nuka, you got _stabbed__._" Jun frowned at him. "Just heal yourself first!"

Suna went and knelt next to her sister, putting a hand on her cousin's arm as if wanting to pull him away and staring at his wound with furrowed brows.

"Listen to her," she told Nuka. "We don't want you to bleed out. Nuka, please just heal yourself. We can take Jun away to somewhere safe so you can work on yourself first."

"I'm fine. It's honestly just a flesh wound. I don't want her to dislocate this," he said calmly, eyes focused on her shoulder. "I'll only be a minute."

Korra immediately walked up next to him, grabbing some water that was on the ground and put her hand over her son's shoulder. She had to wrestle down the urge to go and shake someone until one of the attackers confessed to having put a knife in her child, but she kept her mind on the task and the relief that apparently nothing important was damaged.

"I'll take care of that," she said, concentrating the glowing water on his wound. "She's right, Nuka. A good healer knows when to heal themselves first."

"It's not really bleeding anymore," he said, shaking his head.

"Blood's precious. We're not in the position for you to argue that," she told him. When she had it healed up as best as she was going to get it in a quick minute, she stood up. "Girls, where're your parents?"

"They had to go check on grandma and everyone else. They told us to go back inside Nuka's room and don't come out," said Jun, looking back down the hall.

"Then do what they say. Lock yourselves in if you have to and keep safe. Nuka, I want you to go with them in case more come by. I need to go help. Can you do that for me?"

For once, her son didn't argue. He nodded and Korra watched them go. With a momentary prayer for everybody's safety, she dashed back to her room to fetch Naga, leaving the man who'd attacked her passed out on the ground where they left him.

She ran on foot, turning corners and trying to reach the other wing with Naga right on her heels. They ran into more assailants wrapped in black on the way, but each time she and Naga easily knocked them out. What Suna said, she found, was very true. Whoever these people were, they weren't exactly fighters or even all that agile. All it took were simple moves to incapacitate them and then the encounter was over.

What's more... where were all the guards that patrolled the halls?

There was no time to think about it.

When she and Naga finally reached the opposite wing, Korra could already hear chaos: people being thrown into walls, metal wiring whirring around – apparently this was where the security guards inside the building were busy at – and familiar voices in distress.

Before she and Naga could barely skid to a stop, Kaguya ran across their way and into a man, two swords in front of her. The attacker got into a stance and hurriedly thrust his arms across his chest as if to bend, but stepped back when nothing happened.

"What the-"

"I grew up in a family of metalbenders," she growled and ran right into him. "Of course my _swords are platinum!_"

She sliced her sword into his chest, bracing him against the blade and reached her other sword around to cut into the back of his knee. Crying out, the man fell, holding the back of his knee. Immediately, she backed up, looking around and spotted Korra walking up to her.

"Your a swordsman as well?" asked Korra, catching her breath.

"I aim to surprise." Kaguya nodded with a small grin. "Being a Beifong is dangerous, Dad says. He and Mom make sure I can bring the pain."

"Well bring a little bit over here!" cried someone clearly busy. Looking over, Tora was fending off four attackers by himself with nothing but his metal wiring and some very acrobatic flips into the air. "I'm getting kind of dizzy!"

Kaguya charged forward, Korra right beside her. Naga ran up ahead straight into the fray and knocked two opponents away just with her head and shoulder. Korra leaped into the air over her and kicked one of them who stood right back up, probably breaking a bone when her leg met their collarbone. Immediately, she turned and directly punched the other in the face, knocking them out cold. Turning, she could see Kaguya and Tora back to back, perfectly in tune with her swords cutting into flesh and his metal wiring setting them up to meet her blades.

But Korra hadn't forgotten the other Beifongs, she turned the other way and could see Su, taking part of the wall and slamming him into the other, leaving him to slither to the ground. Bolin, Opal and her security detail surrounding her, they were engaged in a flash battle that ended just as quickly as Korra was turning.

Whoever these people were... they weren't like the group on Air Temple Island. The group who'd attacked Air Temple Island were _skilled _benders that Korra couldn't turn her back on. These people... she barely had do to any fighting at all. She was sweating more from the running than anything else.

Just like that, the last opponent went down on Kaguya and Tora's side and Korra relaxed just slightly in case anybody got up.

"Is everyone alright?" called Su, looking at familiar faces.

There were chimes of assurance and Korra walked up to her. Su just shook her head, knowing exactly what she was going to ask.

"I have no clue at all," said Su. "Bataar's a light sleeper and he woke me up. Someone was in our room with a knife, I turned it back on them and went outside. Heard a bunch of noise and..."

She gestured to all the black-clad bodies lying on the ground, then rubbed her back.

"Spirits, that's going to hurt in about an hour..." she groaned.

"Same," sighed Korra, rubbing the back of her neck. "On everything. Let's just get started. I think we all know this is going to be a long day. We should have your people start handcuffing these guys and let's get started on the interrogation as soon as we get ourselves together. And out of our pajamas. Bolin and Opal can probably go check on the kids now."

"Are they okay?" asked Su, her brows furrowing in distress and deep concern. "Are they hurt?"

Korra shook her head.

"They're all fine... well, Nuka was hurt and I really need to get to his wound patched up first, but everybody's alive. Whatever this is, I think it's safe to say that there were supposed to be a lot of Beifong bodies planned tonight."

Korra almost cringed. She hated the way she was getting so used to saying things like that. Shaking her head, she sighed. Here came the headache.

Nodding with a tight lip, Su narrowed her eyes and turned back toward her security detail.

"Get them in custody! Whoever's gravely injured get's taken to see a healer, but arrest them all!" She pointed at two guards standing near her. "You two alert the rest of the guard. Search everywhere twice! Three times if you have to! _I don't want any of these bastards getting away!_"

Though fatigued just from pure lack of sleep let alone fighting, Korra could certainly see and even _feel _why Su's anger was peaking. They tried to _kill_ her _family_.

Korra could already see the headlines now: _The Beifongs in Zaofu all nearly murdered_.

Intending to go back and get Nuka's wound healed properly, she hadn't had the chance when Kaguya called them.

"Look!" She gestured for Korra and her grandmother to come over. "Come over here! Look who it is!"

Korra and Su walked over to where Kaguya was knelt down next to a man passed out on the floor and Tora staring with his mouth fallen open. His face had been unwrapped and it revealed an aging man with greying brown hair, a bushy mustache and thin lips now sporting a bruise. Though she couldn't quite remember his name, Korra definitely had seen that face.

She didn't even have to say it. Tora did it for her.

"_Mihai_?"

-:-:-:-

"So, all of the men who were captured worked in the warehouses?" frowned Su.

"Correct," said Kaguya. "At least most of them that is. Which is why it was so starkly easy for them to get in. Most of these people have lived here at least half their lives. Years at the _very_ least. They know their way around and I'm willing to bet they had at least a little bit of inside help or set up some kind of route prior. The guards are looking now... though honestly it's probably a case of both."

Korra listened, mere curiosity and duty keeping her eyes open. Even though those early hours in the morning had barely been a fight, it still sure did take a lot out of her. All of them really. She sat in Su's office with the two Bataar's, Kaguya, and Tora respectfully standing nearby with a couple other security guards.

Su rubbed her eyes.

"I should be more surprised..." Su sighed. "But I'm just too damn tired. And the motivation seems pretty obvious."

"Agreed," said Korra, sitting forward now and trying not to yawn. "That was a takeout. Clean and simple. Mako's seen it happen many times with people who the triads are targeting. It's sad, but it's also textbook. Murder in the dark of the night."

"Question is why?" asked Bataar Sr. "It's not exactly sudden, but just murder out of the blue...?"

There was silence for a moment and Korra almost wanted to say something herself before the lack of noise made her fall asleep right into this couch.

"If I may?" Kaguya raised her pen slightly.

Su nodded.

"Of course, dear. Go on."

"I think there's an elephant-bear in the room," said Kaguya, looking at them all. "We're the Beifongs."

"And therefore an important political family," said Bataar Jr, nodding at her.

"Exactly. It's easy to see why people might want us dead. The main question is why." She frowned. "But that's not really a question in light of recent events. Tora, how many of the attackers were people who worked in the warehouses?"

"All except five," said Tora. "The rest belonged to workers all over the city."

"Meaning this was a large scale coordination," added Korra.

"Very much so. See, we all know that Zaofu sits on a crown of resources. Not just metal. It's why we're able to prosper so, but I have a theory. It's based off the legendary wars between the clans of the Fire Nation before they were unified. It's said that there were two major clans. One in the south and one in the north. The one in the north used spies to smuggle resources out of lands in the south, then bribed one of the family members of the southern ruling family when they were wealthy enough from siphoning their enemy's resources – whilst creating unrest – and had them kill the current clan leader, installing themselves in power by doing so. That way, the North had control of the southern lands by proxy.

"Now, in out situation it starts out with a smuggle operation for an attack on Air Temple Island. Based on that theory, to attain something else. What, we don't know quite yet, but whatever it is was most likely another means to an end. Now, we get that out of the way before we make any big moves in case something falls through. That way, you have what you need first. Then, kill the ruling family of your resource hub – Zaofu – and install someone else who you have your claws in."

"And Zaofu is theirs," sighed Su, sitting back in her chair and rubbing her forehead. "Quite the coup."

"But effective. It's quick, concise and proven to work," said Bataar Jr. He turned to Kaguya. "Good work, sweetheart. I'd think that's pretty accurate."

Kaguya nodded, but Korra frowned.

"Okay, but that still leaves the question as to why attack Air Temple Island in the first place. 'A means to an end', but _what__?_" Korra narrowed her eyes. "What does Air Temple Island have that they needed so badly?"

"Perhaps it's not on Air Temple Island," said Kaguya, now leaning back in the couch. "Perhaps Air Temple Island was the means to an end."

-:-:-:-

That night, Korra got a hold of Mako early because spirits knew she needed to turn in early. Of course, he nearly lost it when she told him that their son had been knifed while the whole lot of them had been attacked.

"Korra, are you _sure_ he's okay?" asked Mako, his panic leaking through his voice. She knew he was trying so hard not to get her all worked up. "He didn't tear anything important in it? No arteries? _Are __**you**__ okay?_"

"_Yes, sweetie. I'm fine,_" said Korra for the hundredth time. "And no he is not hurt. Don't you think I'd check for that?"

"Sorry, sorry," he sighed. "Just had to make sure... but I know you got it. I'm glad you're both okay though. As for Nuka, he didn't fight you on it?"

"Oh, he did. Just a little though. I think he just wanted to make sure the other kids were safe. I was more happy for it honestly."

"Okay, good... now, this thing Su's granddaughter talked about? You think that the attack on Air Temple Island was a middle man?" he asked. "That's sure a lot of effort to put into something like that, but I can believe it. The way they just suddenly retreated makes a lot of sense in that light."

"Yeah... we're going to talk about it more tomorrow. Man, I need some sleep. Been running around all day with the authorities here I can barely keep my own head on straight."

"Then I'm glad you're turning in early," he said softly. "But before you go..."

Korra raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah?"

"A letter from your Dad came today. It's uh... it's apparently important?"

"What's it about?" she asked.

"Well, it's more like from 'The Chief of the Southern Water Tribe' than your dad _exactly_. It was formal for him. This wasn't a social call. He and the Northern Water Tribe Chiefs are requesting your presence. Apparently, he and your cousins are all up there requesting an audience with you."

"Oh, what now?" Korra groaned, putting her hands over her eyes. "Every time somebody asks to see me it's always something really bad... oh well, I guess I'll at least get to see my family while I'm adding more teetering life and death situations onto my plate."

"Don't worry, you won't be alone," he said reassuringly. "I'm going with you."

She took her hand away.

"Are you sure?" she asked. "You know you don't have to. You have a mountain of paperwork I'm sure you have to get to."

"Exactly. I'd rather be with you."

She chuckled.

"I'm so flattered."

"No, really. You remember how back in the day Lin would always just up and get out there to help you? Well, that's what I'm doing now. It's been a while since I've gotten out of this city anyway. We'll even bring the dogs and they can go have fun in the snow while I assist you in saving the world for the thousandth time."

"Yeah..." she said wistfully. "It's always nice when I've got you at my back... okay. As long as you're sure."

"I'm always sure with you."

She grinned.

"Then let's do it."

"Good. Besides, this is what I have deputies for anyway. And don't worry. I'll get your warmer clothes all together before you get here. Everything will be all packed and ready. "

"Now, I know where your son gets all that soft side from," she smiled into the radio.

"Me?" he asked, sounding genuinely surprised. "Nah, he gets that all from you."

She scoffed, almost laughing.

"You dork."

* * *

Bah, I feel like the title was a lot more suspenseful, but I did feel like it was appropriate.

As you also might notice, the cover art here has been changed to one I commissioned from the amazing Minuiko on tumblr! You can see it on my blog as well under "art" and "works I've commissioned."

Well, we're a baby step closer to figuring out what's going on and a lot of people got their chance to show off their skills. Here we are at a kind of beginning folks. Not a beginning in a traditional sense, but we're one thread closer as to why exactly Air Temple Island was attacked in the first place that led to all this (and is leading to so much more). Something I also really love is writing Nuka's relationship with his mother. Not to say he doesn't love his father, but we get to see how Korra's relationship with her son is. It makes you wonder about the exact nature of her relationship with her daughter...

Guys, I've really got to say thank you for reading this and reveiwing this. It just brings me this unbridled joy all day when I see people leaving their comments/reviews on this fic abut just about anything. I even appreciate when you're just pointing out something or maybe even making a critique because it means you at least show enough interest. So thank you!

As always, guys I love it when you drop those reviews and I love reading them! They really keep me motivated and keep me writing so I can get the next chapter out as fast as possible! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


	10. Korra: The Storm in the North

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

* * *

**Korra: The Storm in the North  
**

* * *

"Who sent you?"

And that would make the twenty-fifth time Korra had officially heard that question. Interrogation was an important thing that had to be done sometimes. Yes, indeed. But it was also one of the most mind-numbing things as well. It could be very well insightful, but if your charge was as silent as Mihai here was being then not so much.

Getting up from his chair, Bataar Jr looked back at his mother and Korra with a clear face that this just wasn't working. Quite frankly, Korra understood where he was coming from. She wasn't quite sure how much time had passed in that interrogation room at this point, but it had to be at least a couple hours by now.

Su switched places with her son. Sitting down, she stared hard at Mihai.

"Mihai. Tell us who sent you. Tell us _something_. If not, we'll have to start investigating your wife."

Mihai looked up sharply, mustache bristling.

"My wife? She has _nothing_ to do with this," he hissed.

"We don't know that," said Korra, crossing her arms. "But we can if you give us something. We can easily cross her off the list of suspects."

"Please..." he slumped. "I-it was all me. I... please leave my family alone."

"We want to, Mihai. I've known your family for years! You _know_ I don't want to drag them into this," said Su, leaning across the table.

"In fact, open up and I can _personally_ arrange your family to be placed under the protection of the Republic City authorities. My husband is the chief of police and Su and I can work it out here so that he can have them put under witness protection. They'll be _safe_. But _only if you tell us who sent you._ You have my word that they will be safe."

Mihai seemed to be pursing his lips the way his mustache was moving. He glanced up nervously at Korra and Bataar Jr, then back at Su. Seemingly exhausted in every way by now, he sighed.

"Fine... fine I'll tell you what I know, but only if my family is safe. It's... it's the only reason why I did this in the first place."

"You have my word, Mihai," said Su. Su and Korra looked at each other, nodding. "Both of ours."

Mihai seemed to swallow hard.

"I-I didn't want to do it. Su, I'm _so_ sorry. I-I-I _hated_ myself for getting caught up in this, but... it started with this girl. This teenage girl. She approached us workers. Some of them went willingly, but the rest of us... Su they targeted us. They had something on each of us. I... I kept getting these letters at work and these calls when I wouldn't go. Threatening calls... telling me they'd do horrible things to my family. T-they knew the names of my _children_..."

"Who, Mihai?" prodded Su.

"I only know the girl. She had us all meet in small groups underground-"

Bataar Jr frowned.

"In the emergency tunnels?"

"Yeah, those ones. I've only met her once now. Don't know her name. She never told us, but... she was just a teenage girl No older than my own kid. Sixteen maybe? Could be older. But she was kind of short. Sweet looking but not. She looked like she had a cruel mind. I've been around enough to know a mean spirit when I see one... and she had these _cracks_ in her skin. Not like a disease or like on her actual skin but like... like..."

Su urged him on quietly.

"Like what?"

"Like someone _put ink her veins_... and she was so pale. Brown hair. Big pigtails."

"What did she say?"

"Well... she told us what to do. She told us to take a piece here and there and make sure it ended up at Mr. Leng's. Discreetly. If we didn't cooperate or tried to tip anyone off then she would hurt us or our families. At first, I didn't believe her... at first. She was just a young girl after all. Not even half my age. But then..."

Korra narrowed her eyes.

"Then...?"

"The she started to _bend wood_. As a kind of demonstration."

"Wood?" Korra raised her eyebrows. "That's impossible. No one can bend wood. Not even me."

"Avatar Korra, I _swear_ it," said Mihai, looking at her as if he'd seen a ghost. "She bended _wood_. Metal too! That's when we started listening. She... she made us listen. I-I've never seen anything like it in my life... and I didn't want to take a chance on it. So, I did what they told us to do. After that, all directions came from Mr. Leng in secret meetings in the tunnels."

A girl...

A girl who could bend wood and metal?

Was she an earthbender then? She must have been to bend metal at least, but _no one_ could bend wood. Or at least... Korra had thought so. Even as the Avatar, she certainly couldn't and she didn't know a soul who could.

So, how?

"Is that all?" asked Bataar Jr.

Mihai nodded.

"That's all I know. That's all I'm sure most of us know. Mr. Leng would know more, but I think even he was just about the same. Now, please... what about my family?"

Su turned around to look at Korra. Stepping forward, Korra nodded.

"I'm going to get on that as soon as I'm done here. If everything you say checks out then we won't have any reason to investigate your wife and they'll be taken to safety."

So, after everything, this entire debacle in Zaofu had been orchestrated by a teenaged girl? Of course, Korra knew better than that. The girl had been a messenger. One who could frighten the workers into doing what she told them to by demonstrating her strange abilities. Korra couldn't exactly blame them. In light of things – granted that everything Mihai said was true – it was clear they'd been targeted because they were average middle class citizens who just wanted to protect their livelihood and their loved ones. People who had spouses, children, homes...

People who had something to lose.

-:-:-:-

"Are you sure you don't need me to stay?" asked Korra, frowning at Su.

Su shook her head.

"Korra, you have other duties to attend to. Now that we've gotten more or less to the bottom of things here it's time for you to move on to other problems."

"Yay," Korra said blandly. "More problems."

Not that she wasn't extremely curious as to what she was being called all the way to the North Pole for. She could only run through her mind the infinite reasons as to why her father would _formally_ request her presence among him and her cousins. It made her wonder and it made her sigh. Sometimes, she was just tired. Sometimes she just wanted a vacation and mourned all the time she could have had one, but something always called for the Avatar.

Then again, whenever she felt herself starting to feel like that she always tried to shake it off. If anything, she was more sorry for her family who she usually had to leave in Republic City. Mako always understood, but she always worried about Nuka and didn't even want to think about what it had come to with her daughter.

Mentally pushing the thoughts aside, she came back to reality as Su chuckled.

"You have a safe trip," said Su, moving to hug Korra. When she pulled back, Su stepped away and Kaguya came forward with a small bow.

"Korra, it's been great seeing you again."

"You as well, Kaguya. Zaofu is lucky to have you. You're going to be a great leader," said Korra, nodding her head. "I hope you know that."

Smiling, Kaguya bowed again.

"Thank you," she said sincerely. "That means a lot."

After everybody's farewells, they took off in the airship. Korra sighed and sat down on the nearest chair, rubbing her face. She was going to talk to more than two world leaders in the span of a week. That seemed like a cue that something was definitely up. Not that they didn't already know that, but spirits help her why did she get a feeling that a storm was brewing?

"You okay?"

Korra took her hand away from her face to see Bolin sitting next to her, sliding over a cup of tea across the table. She took it and sipped it gratefully.

"Oh, you know," she said, half-laughing. "Something's trying to throw the world off-balance. Same as usual. Thanks by the way."

"Don't mention it. Opal said you looked like you needed it," he said.

"You know, you didn't have to leave if you didn't want to. We totally would have sent the airship back to get you guys or I'm sure Su would have lend you guys one of hers."

Bolin shrugged.

"Yeah, we know, but we all agreed that it was probably best to leave with the kids around. With what happened the other night even Su thinks so. At least until they're totally sure it's safe again. It sucks, but it's what's best."

"I understand," she said, sipping her tea again. "I'm sorry though."

He blinked.

"Sorry for what?"

"You know... all these problems-"

"That are out of your control." Bolin cut her off. Korra actually looked mildly startled when he did. "Hey, I know you're the Avatar, but you're still human Korra. It's okay. You're doing everything you can to fix it and that's what counts. We know you wouldn't be dragging yourself from one half of the world to the other if you weren't. You can't keep blaming yourself for every wrong thing."

She let out a breath.

"I can't help it... so many things have gone wrong on my watch."

"And so many things have gone right. I don't think I have to remind you about defeating Kuvira and every other thing you've ever done that helped the world. Hello? Saved the world from ten thousand years of darkness? I think that counts. Korra..." He looked around as if to make sure nobody was near and then lowered his voice. "Maybe I shouldn't say this and maybe I don't know what I'm talking about, but Tikaani leaving has nothing to do with your ability as the Avatar."

Though listening, she stared downcast into her teacup, not daring to look at him. Her voice was but a whisper as she went on.

"...how can I keep saving the world when I couldn't even be a mother to my own daughter...?"

He didn't say anything for a moment, but she could still feel him sitting there, looking at her. Sometimes she wondered what others saw. What they thought of her when they'd heard that her own daughter had ran away from home. They all knew. It was no secret that Tikaani had left home because of her. She was, after all, the nail in the coffin.

"Hey... don't say that. You know-"

"Dad! Naoka won't stop blowing wind in my face!"

That was six year old Toza calling for his father. Bolin turned around, slightly hesitant, but he finally turned back all the way.

"I'm coming, guys! Cut it out and be nice to each other!" He faced Korra again. "Just don't beat yourself up, okay? It's not easy being a parent. You know that."

He went off and Korra threw her head back, exhausted.

She knew that, but it still didn't make her feel any better.

"Hey, mom?"

Korra looked up to see her son standing by rather nervously, Genji beside him with a face that looked like he was trying not to smile.

"Um, yes?" she asked, raising an eyebrow. "What is it, boys?"

"Uh, nothing much-"

"Don't listen to him Aunt Korra, it really _is_ something. He's freaking out," said Genji, crossing his arms and nudging Nuka forward with his elbow. Nuka glared at him, but looked back at his mother as if he was totally guilty.

"What is it?" She frowned. "Did something happen?"

"Er... um... do we have to go to the _North Pole?_" he asked, cringing.

She blinked.

"Well... yes. That's kind of where you're grandfather's calling us to. Is something wrong?"

"No, no... I'm just not feeling the North Pole. Why don't I stay home for this one?"

Now, Korra raised her eyebrows at her son. After all their talking and concessioning for him to start being more involved he wanted to _stay home?_

She crossed her arms over her chest like Genji now, silently indicating to him that he better spill what was wrong and spill it right now. Seeing her reaction apparently, he sighed and nudged Genji right back.

"You tell her. I... I can't," he said, his face flushed enough that she could actually see it.

Genji sighed dramatically, almost looking like he was going to chortle out the answer.

"_Well_, the always brave trooper right here is _scared_ to go to the North Pole."

"Scared?"

Why on earth would he be scared?

"Sweetheart, why-"

"Sila," he said quickly, looking rather miserable saying it.

"Sila?"

And she and Genji finally looked at each other, her own mouth agape and Genji smiling wide in affirmation as he nodded at her question.

"Yep. The ex girlfriend-"

"-that he broke up with over a letter-"

"-over a year ago and hasn't had any contact with since? Yep. That's the one."

"Stop that! Don't make me feel bad about this!" whined Nuka, finally getting his voice back. "I-It was over a year ago! There's no way she can still be angry at me..."

"Yes, she can. You broke up with her over a letter and did a pretty poor job of explaining why when you'd been already dating for the past year."

"Almost."

"Oh, the difference."

"It was right around when Tikaani left!" Nuka explained to his mother. "I don't know! I didn't know how to explain that to her and just... _mom I can't face her_."

Korra looked at her son, pitying because he was her baby and she didn't like him looking so distressed.

But also because he reminded her of someone.

She sighed.

"You're just like you're father..."

Korra spent the rest of the day talking down her son here and there, trying to convince him not to opt out. She'd need to get Mako on the ball about this since he would probably have the best advice, but for now she had to get him not to panic quite so much. It'd been a long enough time that her son hadn't seen his grandparents and, to put it bluntly, _he was going_. After all of that talk about wanting to go with her, he wasn't going to stay home. Especially when it would just be him and the dogs staying back. Genji helped her talk to him. Suna helped her talk to him. Even Bolin helped her talk to him.

At the end of the day, he seemed just about caved in.

"Okay..." he sighed. "Okay. I'll go. No matter what. I promise. I'll just... I'll just think about seeing Grandad and Gran-Gran again."

"There we go," said Korra, relieved. "You probably won't even see her, sweetie. Who knows if she even still _lives_ there."

"I know, it's just..."

"You feel bad."

He nodded, looking miserable again.

"I know I hurt her even though I never meant to," he said, sitting down on the dining room chair somewhat despondently. "I just... I couldn't handle everything... Tikaani left. Just before that Sila had told me she loved me for the first time and I just... I panicked with everything and I can't even explain it, Mom. It was stupid. _I was stupid._ I regretted it the very next day, but it was too late and I couldn't exactly take it back and just... I don't know... I don't even _deserve_ to face her."

Korra sighed for the umpteenth time that day. Man, he was really like his dad.

"Nuka... you were scared. Believe me, I've been there. You know that you're father and I were broken up for a few years. It was mutual, but I was the one that finally really called it off in the end. Heck, you know I got broken up _with_ when your Aunt Asami ended things with me. I've been on both ends. You'll never know until you see her again. If you don't see her again then chalk it up to moving on as best you can. If you do, then try to explain yourself. Don't hang onto this. I know I'm making this sound a lot easier than it really is, but don't get so panicked. Deep breaths."

Nuka inhaled slowly and exhaled, standing up and seemingly trying to shake out his nerves.

"I just... I feel _bad_," he said, shoulders slumped.

"I know, sweetie. I know." She pulled him into a hug. "... do you still love her?"

"... To be honest, I tried to stop answering that question a long time ago. It kind of hurt honestly. A lot."

"I hate to put salt on the wound, but I think that's your answer right there," she told him gently.

He let out a breath, pulling away with that guilty expression almost etched into his features.

"Yeah... I know that too."

-:-:-:-

A couple days later, the airship hovered over snow and ice. When Korra finally got a good look at it she could only think of one thing.

Home.

When she breathed in that cool, Northern Water Tribe air that's all she could think of. Even if she wasn't exactly born in that half of the world it was the environment she'd missed. The cold tundra of the poles was something she'd learned to appreciate not living there anymore. Sometimes, the cold helped her not to think quite so much all the time.

When they exited the airship, the first thing her ever greying father did was get a good hold of his grandson. Nuka grunted, grinning and bear-hugged his grandfather right back.

"How's my boy?" asked Korra's father, grinning. He placed sturdy hands on his grandson's arms."Your mom wasn't lying. You've a lot gotten taller. And stronger."

"Getting close to being as tall as you," said Nuka, reaching up to put a hand on his grandfather's head. "Don't know if I'll ever get that strong though."

"You'll make it," said her father. "I'm getting old. It's your turn."

Smiling and raising an eyebrow, Korra put her hands on her hips.

"Hey," she said, mock offended. "No love for your daughter? Or are you _Chief Tonraq_ only these days to me?"

Her father laughed and he moved to give her a big hug. Korra hugged him back, realizing how long it'd been since she'd had a good hug from him.

"No, it's still Dad to you." He kissed her temple. "How are you, sweetheart?"

"I'm okay," she said, shrugging. "You know how it is."

He nodded and as Mako finally came to stand next to her, her father grinned again and pulled Mako into a sudden hug. Coughing, Mako met her father with a thud and padded the man's back. He coughed through a smile.

"Hey, Chief." He pleasantly padded her father's shoulder. "Strong as always I see."

"How's it going, son? You hanging in there or are they still running you ragged in that city?"

"A little bit of both to be honest," replied Mako. "But I guess I'm used to it."

"Fellow chief to fellow chief. Oh, I hear you. Come on though. We should all get out of this cold."

The day was spent catching up rather than getting down to business quite so soon. That was something Korra ended up being rather grateful for. Her father assured her that they would get to things right away first thing in the morning, but he could probably see the tired in her eyes. Growing up, her parents always could tell when she was very stressed out. Her mother had made probably every water tribe food Nuka even came close to putting on his favorites list and a few of Korra's favorite deserts.

One thing she was _entirely_ grateful for was the fact that they didn't ask about Tikaani.

Everywhere she went and met up with people either they asked or she almost felt compulsed to ask. It was nice to be free of that for one evening... on the other hand, she also wondered why they didn't. In the end, she chalked it up to the mutual understanding that if either of them knew where she was then they wouldn't even need to have that discussion.

And quite frankly they probably didn't need to have it now.

While Mako and her mother talked about something concerning the dogs, Korra listened to her son tell her father all about his probending endeavors of the year. When he got up to go use the restroom, her father turned to her.

"Korra," he began quietly. "There's something I was also supposed to tell you."

Korra blinked.

"Yeah, Dad?" she asked, curious as to why he looked so somber all of a sudden. "What is it?"

"It's Katara. She wanted to see you. It's been a while. You know... that kind of thing," he said, smiling weakly.

"Katara? Oh man, I know it's been a while since I've paid her a visit. Is she okay?" Spirits, had something happened to Katara? Is that why she was here? "Is she sick?"

"No, no, nothing like that," he assured her. "But she would like to see you is all."

"Oh... okay. Yeah, sure. I need to visit her. Tonight even," she said, relieved. "I'll leave soon. In fact, if Nuka or Mako want to come then we can all-"

"Er, no, Sweetheart. She just wants to see you for a second is all. They can visit her tomorrow," he said gently. "Do you understand?"

Korra looked at her father, now quietly alarmed.

Why did Katara only want to see her? And her alone? If she wasn't sick then what exactly was wrong? Because obviously something wasn't totally right here.

Unable to wait, Korra excused herself from her parents house. When her son questioned her about it, she only smiled and told him that she had to go see a friend. Mako only nodded and didn't ask any questions. Her father had obviously relayed him the message as well.

Glad she could actually even go see Katara, Korra thanked the spirits for their spirit portal because half an hour later of walking she was at the other side of the world. The Southern Water Tribe. Her _birth_ home. The scene was familiar and Korra knew her way around just as well as thirty years ago when she was just a little girl. Not much had changed. Not the weather. Not the buildings. Not even the roads underneath her feet.

She knew exactly how to get to Katara's house and when she did, she knocked on the sturdy door of what looked like a healer's hut. A moment later, the door creaked open and there stood that familiar old women with white hair, brown skin and smiling blue eyes. Older now and looking more frail then she did a couple decades ago, but still familiar and still standing. Korra smiled at her, half-relieved and half simply happy to see her.

"Katara, it is _so good_ to see you," said Korra, bending over to hug the woman. "I'm so sorry it's been a while since I last visited. You know how it gets."

Katara shook her head.

"No, need to be sorry, dear," she said, pulling back. Her voice crackling with age. "I understand. I've been there myself. How are you?"

"I'm okay. How are you?"

"Oh, better now that you're here. Come in, come in. Get out of the cold."

"Yeah... I was going to come visit me anyway," said Korra, coming in when Katara moved aside and gestured for her to come in. "But my dad said you wanted to see me... Katara, is everything okay? He was being really weird about it and I just got concerned is all..."

Katara didn't answer right away. She didn't even really look at Korra. Instead, she just kind of paced around the house as best she could, fidgeting with this and that. When she stopped and was fidgeting with Aang's beaded necklace that was displayed on a nearby table, Korra frowned.

"Katara?"

"How is Nuka?" asked Katara. "Is he doing well?"

"He is. He's doing fine. Katara, what's-"

"And Mako?"

"Good. I-"

"How about-"

"Katara, please. Tell me what's the matter?" Korra didn't want to be rude, but she stepped further toward Katara, trying to get a look at her face when the old woman turned her back more toward her. "What's wrong? And don't tell me nothing. You asked to see me for more than just a social call... what is it?"

Korra herself was half afraid of that answer. What was it that was making this kind, yet solid old woman she'd known her whole life seem like a guilty, fidgeting child? The way Katara sighed and turned her head a little in her direction made that feeling worse.

"Wait here for me?"

"O-of... of course," said Korra, scared into near silence at this point, her voice barely audible.

Katara disappeared into another room. The minutes that passed seemed forever as Korra ran all the possibilities through her head. Maybe Katara _was_ sick and wanted to tell her before anybody else? But then why did her father look nearly as guilty as Katara did?

When she came back, Katara held three papers in her hand. She pursed her cracked lips, getting very quiet when she came in front of Korra and took a deep breath.

"You know that I have always watched out for you. And have always tried to be a grandmother to your children as I have been for you. Never would I purposefully have done anything to hurt you."

Korra didn't answer, momentarily stunned before she remembered herself.

"...I know. Of course I know that. You were my teacher. More than that. You were like a second parent to me. Like another grandmother to my children. They could always trust you and so could I... I still do. That'll never change... Katara... please tell me what's wrong."

After a second, Katara seemed to swallow hard and handed Korra the letters with a slightly trembling hand.

Frowning again, Korra took them and read the paper on top:

_Dear Katara,_

_ I'm sure you've heard by now. I left home. Please don't ask me why. You probably wouldn't be able to either way. I don't stay in the same place for very long. Please don't tell anybody I'm writing to you either. I don't exactly know where I'm going or what I'll be doing in even a week's time, but what else am I doing to do? I just wanted to write to you and tell you I'm okay. I'm not hurt or deranged or anything like that. Just tired. And I know told you not to ask why I left home, but there's the answer anyway. If you have to tell somebody then you can tell my grandparents as long as they promise not to say anything to anybody else. I'll write again._

_ Tikaani_

Korra ignored the world for a few minutes, re-reading the letter for what felt like a thousand times, ignoring the fact that there were probably two more letters underneath this one, ignoring even her own shaking hands.

"Korra."

Katara's voice finally broke her trance and Korra looked at the woman, her face feeling as blank as she felt with every emotion on override inside of her.

"Korra..." she began again, her voice almost fading. "I'm sorry."

* * *

Whoo, so Katara makes her appearance and it's a little bit of a surprise.

Katara is pretty old at this point, but she's still around and I've always liked to think that she was always apart of Katara's life and now here's Korra finding out this grandmother figure to her has been withholding this kind of info from her and her family. That being said, Katara will explain herself more next chapter. We all know Katara and she'd never do something like this for a malicious or misguided reason, but some things have to be honored.

I don't want to say much so not to spoil anyone!

Once again, I have to thank you guys for reading. It really means the world to me when I realize that people really do read this story.

As always, guys I love it when you drop those reviews! Every word means a lot to me and I really love reading them! They keep me writing and keep me motivated so I can get the next story out as fast as possible! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


	11. Korra: The Knife

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

* * *

****Korra: The Knife  
****

* * *

_Dear Katara,_

_ Still don't know where I'm going. I've been wandering around for a few weeks and I don't know when I'm going to stop. I'm tired. _

_ Tikaani_

The second letter was so painfully short, but Korra felt it breathe life into her. There was her daughter's handwriting right in front of her face.

She'd _written_.

And nobody had said a _word _to Korra. Here she was practically going grey over her daughter's disappearance and nobody had thought it courteous to _tell her that her missing child had been writing to them?_

Nostrils flaring, Korra nearly ripped the letter shuffling it to the back of the pile and was dismayed to find the last letter was even shorter.

_Dear Katara,_

_ Got a job. Doing fine. Tell my grandparents for me please._

_ Tikaani_

The words were like water and here she was feeling like she'd been in the Si Wong Desert for ninety days. How many times had she prayed for any word of her daughter? How many times had she looked into the vines and been heartbroken that she couldn't see anything? Was it because their connection wasn't strong enough? Deep down, Korra knew. After all, Tikaani had grown up knowing her mother's abilities and, to top it off, was trained by an airbending master who'd also been Korra's guide into the spirit world. More than likely, it was probably combination of of all those things.

Tikaani was adaptable and had always been good at using what she had to achieve her ends. It was believable to think she simply had cut herself off from her mother even in such an obscure way.

Korra wanted to cry as she read the letters again, feeling tears of a thousand different emotions welling up in her eyes.

But _how many times _had she hoped to the moon that any word from Tikaani would come back? Countless nights and countless days had been spent aching for something she felt just wasn't there. Crying when she didn't want to cry, but just couldn't help herself. Angry at everyone and, yet, no one but herself.

Korra would have done anything to read these letters.

And of all the people in the world that had kept them from her... Katara?

Katara who was her first bending master. Katara who was more than a teacher to her, but family. Katara who had urged her to find her own path as the avatar. Katara who had helped her learn how to walk again. Katara who was so wise and kind. Katara who'd been like another grandmother to her own children. Katara who'd been everything she needed when no one else knew how to be.

Katara who she'd least expected to do something like this in every way.

"Katara..." Korra breathed, gesturing to the letters with violently trembling hands. She struggled to breathe and her throat felt like it was closing up as she swallowed hard. "I-I-I don't... Katara you _know__\- _I've waited- _We've waited!_ Mako and I! Nuka! I have waited to hear _anything _from my daughter and- a-a-and _how_? How _could_ you? _Dare you?__"_

She had so much to say, but could barely bring herself to talk at all. One of the rare times she sputtered over her words, Korra wasn't sure if she was seething or wracking with shock. On one hand, she was furious no matter what Katara's reasons were. On the other hand, what were those reasons in the first place?

Sighing, Katara looked up at Korra.

"Korra, I'm sorry."

"You keep saying that, but you still haven't told me why! _Why would you keep this from me?_" Korra started to raise her voice a little. "When did this start? What happened?"

"Korra, I never did this to hurt you or your family," said Katara, shaking her head. "I only did as she asked me to do. She asked me not to say anything so I didn't."

Korra shook her head right back. That wasn't enough.

"Tell me everything. When did these start?"

Katara pursed her lips.

"The first letter came a couple weeks after she'd left." Korra actually had to sit down. Spirits, a_ couple weeks_. Katara went on. "The second one came maybe a week after that. Then, the third one came about a month after that once she'd stopped by."

Korra let out some kind of noise into her hand that sounded like she was choking back both a sob and scream. When she'd composed herself, she took her hand away and began wiping a falling tear.

"She _came by? She visited you? Did my parents know about that too or what?"_

Katara shook her head again.

"They only knew about the letters-"

"Was she okay? Was she healthy?" Korra cut her off. "Did she look like she was eating? Katara, _was she hurt?_"

"She was fine," said Katara, frowning sadly. "She only came by to visit me. She didn't tell me much, but she wanted somewhere to be comfortable for the night. That was all. I fed her and gave her food to pack and told her should come by anytime. I begged her too... she hasn't visited again, but I figured as much. She also asked me not to tell anybody about it."

"Then why tell me now?" snapped Korra. "Why even bother when you've already kept it this long?"

"It was time."

"_Time? It was time? Katara-__"_

"I wasn't proud of it," said Katara, her voice soft. "I never wanted to keep it from you, but she asked... I haven't heard from her in nearly a year and so when I heard that you were coming I felt like it was time."

"You got as worried as I did," said Korra, her voice thick, but cold. "I'm over here sick always worried about her and you started to feel that too, didn't you?"

When Katara didn't say anything, Korra growled in frustration and buried her face in her hands. She just wanted to _scream_.

"I know you're angry with me..." began Katara. "And I'm sorry that I hurt you. But Korra... she was just so lost."

Korra bit down on her lip, doing her best not to outright cry like a baby in Katara's living room.

_Lost._

Taking deep breaths, she rubbed her forehead with her hand.

"No, no," Korra smacked her forehead with her palm now. "No, it's not... Katara, it's not your fault. You were just trying to help and I just... I... I just don't know either."

Neither of them said anything, a sobering silence washing over. Her daughter felt lost and that was all her own fault. The truth of the matter was that Korra could save the world a thousand times, but failing to be a proper mother to her daughter would always make her feel as if her own was crumbling around her. How did you just learn be okay with that? The answer, at least for herself, was that you never were. Somewhere in the back of your mind the guilt drove you a little mad.

Because that's what guilt's purpose was, wasn't it?

To drive you wherever it needed to drive you until you broke.

She didn't ask when she felt Katara leave the room and didn't look up when she returned. Spirits, as horrible as it sounded, Korra didn't want the whole world to matter just for a few minutes.

"I..." began Katara, her voice creaking. She sighed. "When Tikaani came by, besides food, I gave her something. This."

Korra finally looked up, slowly, coming face to face with an ornate box Katara had open. Inside, an elegant blue, white accented comb lay on velvet. The comb lay on one side, but the other side was empty, soft indents inlaid in it.

"A comb?" asked Korra softly.

Katara nodded. She put the box down on a nearby table and took the comb out, pulling on the handle. To Korra's mild surprise, the comb came apart and a blade revealed itself out of the handle.

Korra stared for a moment, then smiled faintly. She couldn't help herself.

"Tikaani probably loved that," she chuckled.

Katara returned the smile, putting the comb back together and looked down at it fondly.

"Aang brought this home for me a long time ago," she said, her voice but a whisper. "He'd bought it and hadn't realized that they were actually secretly knives. To him, they were just beautiful combs that he wanted to give me I had so much hair..."

Korra opened her mouth, then closed it again. She let out a breath.

"That must be really special then..." she said quietly.

"It is." Katara nodded, holding it tighter now. "And that's why I gave it to Tikaani. She needed to know that someone trusted her with something."

Sighing, Korra stood up, suddenly exhausted.

"I _do_trust Tikaani. I just _miss_her."

"And I know you do," said Katara, gentle. "I gifted this to her because I miss her too. I wanted her to have a piece of home... a piece of _family_while she's out there. Either way, Korra... I am sorry."

Korra looked down at her former master again. Even now, apart of her felt like she'd missed an opportunity. Like she'd missed a chance to get her daughter back home even if it had passed months before, but...

"It's okay," said Korra, shaking her head. She put her hands on Katara's shoulders and actually pulled her into a hug, relieved when she felt the older woman's arms around her as well. "Don't worry about it. I know you and just... thank you, Katara. Thank you for being there."

Thank you for being there when she didn't want me around anymore, Korra thought somewhat glumly though she tried not to.

Korra's only wish that night was for her baby to not feel alone. If anything, Tikaani could hate her all she wanted and it would hurt... yes, it would hurt very much, but at the very least what peace of mind Korra needed was that her daughter wouldn't feel afraid.

That being said, Tikaani was fearless. That comb-knife would hopefully assure her spirit remained so.

-:-:-:-

Retuning, Korra wasn't in the mood to relay the message to everyone when she got back to her parent's house the night before. Her son didn't really need to know and now she understood Katara's sentiment. Moreover, she didn't want to jeopardize Nuka's relationship with Katara until she could figure out a way to tell him in a way he would understand.

She didn't talk to her parents about the matter, but made sure to give them a reassuring smile when she came home. Later, when Mako finally learned of it, he reacted similarly to her though he got his head on faster than she did.

"I know..." sighed Korra, rubbing her husband's back as they sat up in bed. "Mako, I hated it too, but... Katara only did it out of love."

Mako mirrored her sigh, rubbing his eyes tiredly.

"I know she did... it's just unfair..." he said weakly and Korra rested her head on his shoulder consolingly. "The whole world seems to be... I just want my daughter back..."

Korra bit her lip, hugging him as he also put an arm around her and they flopped back onto their pillows.

She weighted herself on his side as he kissed her forehead, nothing needing to be said.

They both wanted her back.

"We're tired..." she said quietly. "Let's just get some rest."

-:-:-:-

The next morning, the whole family started out early. Her mother made them all a hearty breakfast before they finally went on their way and Korra did her best to make sure both her parents knew she wasn't upset at them. They didn't need to talk about the matter, but know that she understood.

Soon, they could talk about it if they wanted, but right now they needed to get down to business.

Though she was here on official Avatar duties, it was nice just walking and riding with her family through the streets of the North Pole. Mako and Korra rode Naga while her father and Nuka rode on Tamaija.

Nuka patted Tamaija's side.

"She's a sturdy girl," he told his grandfather. "At least she actually let us ride her. Tavra doesn't really let anyone ride him anymore."

Her father looked back, smiling sadly at him.

"Some dogs are like that unfortunately," he said ruefully. Korra tried to pretend she didn't hear it. She was doing her best not to damper the morning with thoughts of the previous night, but it was indeed a sad reality that Tavra no longer let anyone ride him since Tikaani left. The dog functioned just fine in every other part of his life, but riding... it apparently didn't have the same luster it used to since his favorite riding buddy was gone.

"So, dad," said Korra, trying to change the subject. "Can you tell me what Eska and Desna want to see me about? What do you guys all want to talk about?"

Her father shook his head at her.

"We're almost there."

Korra took the hint. Classified information.

Just great.

The Northern Water Tribe palace was as grand as it'd always been. An elegant fortress of ice and power that Korra used to have a certain resentment in the days when she didn't exactly see her cousins in a better light. Over the years, however, Eska and Desna had come around. As much as they could that was. Years of ruling a nation, she assumed, must have made them wise and more empathetic in their own ways. If anything, Korra at least felt a bit more familial love when they referred to her as 'Cousin Korra'.

The dogs were kept outside as her father led them deeper into the Northern Water Tribe palace. It made perfect sense as to why her parents preferred to have a second house in the North Pole rather than live in the palace every time her father had business there. While Korra didn't mind the palace so much, she imagined her father probably retained unpleasant memories. Even if he didn't show it.

She should have been used to it by now, but she would never find it one hundred percent normal to have people bowing to her father. Not that he didn't deserve it, but she supposed to her he was just, well, Dad.

When they finally got further in where there were less people around, her father glanced back.

"We're not going to anywhere special exactly, but we are going to go underground where your cousins have a more private meeting room. Kind of like a bunker."

"Like a bunker?" Korra frowned. "They really don't want anybody overhearing us, huh?"

"Not a chance," he said, quieter.

They got to a staircase near the back of the palace and followed it far down into what looked like refurnished catacombs. Ahead, a dome like metal ball rested in the back, looking half fused with the ice surrounding it.

The two guards at the door let them in swiftly and inside were Desna and Eska sitting patiently on two simple throne-like chairs.

"Cousin Korra," greeted Desna – or at least Korra thought he was greeting her – his voice as deadpanned as it'd always been. "It's good to see you."

"It's been a long time, Cousin Korra," said Eska, her voice the same nature as her brother's. "You son looks healthy."

Beside her, Nuka waved somewhat awkwardly.

"Uh, hi Aunt Eska. Hi, Uncle Desna."

The twins nodded at him and Mako, then looked back at Korra.

"It certainly has been a while," said Korra, smiling a little. "It stays busy. You know how it is."

"We do," said Desna. "That would be why you're here."

Korra folded her arms over her chest, ready to get the ball rolling.

"That's true," she said seriously. "Well, let's get down to it."

"Let's," said Eska, gesturing robotically to a few nearby chairs. As they sat down, she went on. "Uncle Tonraq, have you told her anything?"

Her father shook his head.

"No. I thought it'd be best to keep all of this under wraps. We don't want any of this being leaked out to anyone."

Eska nodded before turning back to Korra.

"Cousin Korra, are you familiar with Tsai Labs?" she asked, blessedly cutting straight to the point.

Frowning, Korra thought about it. She'd heard it _somewhere_, but couldn't quite put her finger on it...

"I can't say I have. At least I can't think of it right now, but it sounds familiar."

Beside her, Nuka tentatively started raising his hand.

"Have you?" she asked her son.

"Er, yeah," he said, dropping his hand. "Genji mentioned something about them. I think they have some kind of development deal with Future Industries. They're this really big science research place I think..."

"Correct," said Desna. "To be more accurate, they are a scientific developmental corporation that deals with progression in anthropology and anthropology related fields."

Anthropology?

"Meaning...?" ushered Korra.

"They study humans," said her father. "Or things _for_humans at least. They help in the progression of medicines, technologies used by humans, things like that."

"So, they study all things concerning people?" asked Mako.

When her father nodded, Korra had a sinking feeling. She was having a lot of those lately and they were all turning out to have reasons for it. They studied all things human... for some reason that sounded creepy.

"So, what's the problem with them?" she asked.

"The problem," began Eska. "Is that we believe they're meddling with things they should be. Right here in the Northern Water Tribe. You see, one of our top engineers has a projects they've been working on and we recruited the help of Tsai Labs to assist her. However, she reported some... questionable things she's overheard."

"Questionable...?" Korra asked cautiously. "What questionable things?"

Eska and Desna looked at each other once more, their faces blank, then turned back at Korra.

"We believe that Tsai Labs are using spirit vines in their research. Experimenting if you will."

Korra froze.

Spirit vines...?

_Spirit vines?_

Images of Kuvira, the Colossus and a near ruined Republic City flashed behind her eyes and she nearly stood up. The spirit vines were _off limits_, if not _forbidden_ by herself than by the spirits themselves. Twenty years ago, Kuvira used the spirit vines to help conquer a nation. Now, somebody _dared _to try and use them once more?

"Who said it? What did they say?" Korra leaned forward, eyes narrowed and feeling a surging in her chest. _No one _would repeat Kuvira.

"According to her, she reported evidence that the spirit vine research was being misused," said Eska. "We don't exactly know what for, but to make a long story short she's been spying inside their company for us. We're... concerned."

"You're concerned because what does a science company that studies humans need research on spirit vines for. Doesn't make any sense, but at the same time-"

"-why do they even _have _research on spirit vines?" Korra asked seriously.

When they didn't answer, She pressed on.

"Eska. Desna. _Why do they have spirit vine research in the first place?_"

Seemingly hesitant in their silence, it was Desna who answered her.

"The engineer was able to get her hands on spirit vines and suggested several improvements we could benefit from if -"

Korra _actually_ stood up now.

"I won't allow it," she said firmly. "You _cannot _use spirit vines for _anything_. Leave them alone. Do _any _of you remember Kuvira's war? The one she nearly obliterated Republic City over?"

"This research is different," said Eska.

"How? How on _earth _is it different!?" Korra was beginning to raise her voice now. She could feel Mako's hand on her arm, but she went on. "I won't allow it!"

"This research is to benefit people," said Eska. "The Water Tribes are isolated from most of the world and this puts us at a technological disadvantage. If a deadly epidemic were to break out our people could face high death tolls compared to other nations. This spirit vine research is being applied to fields such as medicine. It is not for war."

"It wasn't for war the first time around," growled Korra. "Varrick started to research the vines so he could harness it for clean energy! To _help _people! But it got into the wrong hands and we should all remember how that went! I certainly do and so do the people who lost their loved ones when Kuvira was on her power trip! She used it to build a _giant robot wielding a spirit energy canon!_"

How could... how could her cousins be so foolish? Was her father in on this and how exactly had they gotten the vines in the first place?

"There are certain things we really shouldn't be messing with," said Mako just as seriously. "And the world should have learned it's lesson about spirit vines twenty years ago. If anything because the vines _themselves _don't like it when you try and harvest them."

"We realize this, but we were assured that the vines were taken peacefully," said Desna.

"Oh, you were _assured._" Korra sighed restlessly, running her fingers through her hair. "How long has this research thing been going on?"

"Five years," replied Desna.

Korra almost choked on air. _Five years of spirit vine research? _In what world did that sound okay? Maybe the vines would prove some kind of helpful to medicines and other benefits, but that kind of thing almost always got into the wrong hands. Sometimes, the knowledge just couldn't be explored. Shouldn't be.

"And there is another thing," said Eska.

Korra looked up expectantly. She was getting so tired of this. _What now?_

The twins looked to her father and he nodded, turning to her.

"Zaheer is dead."

Korra blinked.

"... I'm sorry?"

"Zaheer is dead, Korra."

"But... what? Did he just get sick?" she asked warily. "... don't get me wrong. I'm glad you told me, but why are you saying that like there's a bigger reason for it?"

Her father frowned.

"Because he was murdered," he said. "They found his body along with the bodies of the White Lotus guards on duty at the prison. Gates open and everything. Someone broke into the prison and killed him. From the looks of the autopsy, they believed he was electrocuted to death."

Korra was rubbing her face now, trying to take inventory of all the new crazy things popping up at once.

In the span of less than two weeks she'd had Air Temple Island mysteriously attacked, the Beifong family nearly murdered, apparently spirit vines were being harvested without her knowledge and, now, Zaheer was dead?

"I know what you're thinking," said her father. "I've heard about Air Temple Island and Suyin filled me in on what went on in Zaofu just before you arrived. Something's going on in the world."

"Finally someone besides me can say it... but this spirit vine thing isn't helping," said Korra, throwing herself down onto her chair "It has to stop. I need to meet this engineer. Something. I can't have this going on while I'm still trying to investigate an attack and an attempted murder."

"You will meet with her. Tomorrow," said Eska. "She's arriving from an abroad business trip and will be back to work the same day. You can speak with her then."

"Fine... fine just.. is this all?" When they nodded, Korra rubbed her eyes with a hand.

Just... everywhere she went...

As they left, Mako suggested they go home and take a nap. She only nodded, albeit appreciatively. That sounded like a fabulous idea.

The day had just started and she was already so tired.

-:-:-:-

In her dreams that night, the dragon from before came back.

Korra looked ahead, surrounded by the darkness and illuminating green mist. Out of the mist, she could see a shape and it changed every time she blinked. She couldn't move, but it was as if she were getting closer with each blink.

First, she saw Nima simply standing in the middle of the mist. She stood there, her expression otherwise blank.

Coming out of the dark, a green dragon formed from the mist and towered over Nima, opening it's jaws over her head. Korra fought to move, but not a muscle would budge. Something invisible was holding her into place and she could do nothing except watch.

She blinked.

Now, something inside of Korra burned as the dragon wrapped itself around a new girl.

Tikaani stood there, her face stony as always and as if nothing was happening. The dragon wrapped it's long slithering body around her daughter, opening it's jaws over her head as well.

Rearing like a snake, the dragon brought it's mouth over Tikaani's body whole and, finally, snapped it's jaw's shut.

Then, Korra woke up.

Her eyes snapped open and she flew into a sitting position, holding her chest as if it were going to burst it was beating so hard.

The dragon.

Why did she keep seeing a dragon?

Was it... was it a spirit perhaps...?

Korra got out of bed, careful not to wake Mako beside her. She looked out her window and into the night sky from the balcony. She tried to think about other things. Anything.

She tried to think about being home and how it was nice that her parents could afford a second home here in the Northern Water Tribe. She tried to think about her mother's happy face at seeing her. She tried to think of her son and how he and Mako had a great relationship with her father.

She just tried to think of family.

But nothing worked and she only found her eyes and mind drawn to the spirit portal projecting into the night sky.

The more her mind was drawn to it, the more her feet were.

Quickly and quietly, she got dressed and left the house. Something was calling her and she had to know what it was. It'd been a while since she felt like this and she'd wondered if the chaos of the last year had disrupted something in her spiritual connection, but for now her mind was focused. That dream had awakened something in her. Like a signal. She had to know what it was.

Not exactly knowing where she was going, Korra simply traveled to the spirit portal and entered it. She didn't move when she found herself in the spirit world, but only closed her eyes and let that signal take her to wherever she was trying to go.

When she opened her eyes again, she found herself in a field of flowers with another spirit portal torn into the center.

The portal leading to Republic City...?

Without hesitation, she walked through it and into the vine inhabited ruins of what used to be the old downtown of Republic City.

Searching, she looked for anything out of the ordinary. On the buildings, in the shadows, in the sky, on the ground... anywhere. She was being led here and followed wherever she was being tugged to.

What was here? wondered Korra. I was meant to see something here.

Something wasn't happening... it'd already happened. She couldn't exactly explain why she knew that and a lot of her "spirit feelings" were fairly unexplainable anyway so she usually just followed them instead of putting them into words. Whatever this feeling was, it was trying to tell her that something occurred here.

Her eyes peeled, Korra looked to the sky and then to the ground directly beneath her by chance. She searched along that patch of loose vines. As her eyes moved, she spotted a corner where the vines looked like they had grown strangely. Getting closer, she frowned. Very strangely. They looked so even...

Like they'd been cleanly cut.

Getting on one knee, Korra took the vines in her hand and observed it. She inspected that particular patch, frowning as she found yet more and more cleanly cut vines.

No natural force was going to cleanly cut vines like that. Not in such a precise manner. They'd been cut like rope. Almost as if they'd been clipped.

Had somebody...?

How? How was anybody going to cut any vines without her knowing? How were they going to do it in the _first _place? Spirits vines were not at all easy to cut... Was she _so _messed up lately that her spirit connection had been all but severed? The years since Kuvira had been harvesting vines had only stregnthened her spiritual connection. Had the past year been _this _hard on her?

"How the..." She furrowed her eyebrows. "Why didn't I feel this? If the vines were being cut I would have known. I would have felt this... why...?"

And it was there that something clicked in her brain as she turned her head into the direction of Yue Bay.

Her eyes widened.

Yes, she would have felt this, but even Korra had to admit she was only human. Her mind could only be focused on so many things at the same time.

She wouldn't have felt it if she were busy fighting invaders on Air Temple Island.

* * *

We finally have a small piece of the puzzle! And all of that madness on Air Temple Island was just something to keep Korra distracted?

The plot thickens! Our time in the North Pole is going to get real interesting real soon so don't miss out!

One thing I also wanted to highlight with this chapter was simply just how _exhausted _Korra is. Just in every way. She's so tired and dealing with so much it's kind of crazy. And there's just so much obligation for Korra at once and all these things keep on popping up like daisies that she can barely catch her breath.

Don't want to say too much and spoil anything though!

As always, guys I really love it when you drop those reviews! They're really such great motivation and they keep me writing so I can get the next chapter out faster! Every word means a lot! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


	12. Korra and Nuka: The Vines

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

* * *

**Korra and Nuka: The Vines  
**

* * *

"So, wait. Hang on." Mako scratched his head early that morning when he'd gotten up. Korra told him what she'd done while he was asleep and all about her new found revelation. "You think that somebody went through all that trouble of organizing an attack on Air Temple Island just to lure you in?"

"It makes sense, doesn't it?' asked Korra, leaning against the dresser drawer. "Why they retreated so suddenly, the thing we just learned about the spirit vines... it's one of the missing pieces. I would feel something wrong if the spirit vines were being disturbed, but I can't pay attention to everything at once. If I'm too busy fighting a small army across the bay then there's a good chance I'd miss that."

"Okay... I suppose you're right about that," he said slowly. "It does... put things together. But it's disturbing."

"Yeah, I know..." she said, figuring they had the same thoughts.

"The fact that someone would go through all of that just to _distract_ you. It makes me wonder what else they would do for bigger things..." he said, frowning worriedly. He got up and took her by the hand. "...like hurting you."

Korra shook her head and took his other hand in her free one.

"I'm fine. Don't worry about me. I'm going to _be _fine. It's the rest of the world we have to worry about," she said gently.

"I can't help it," he said, smiling weakly. "I always worry about you."

Korra smiled back.

"I know," she said, leaning in to kiss him. "To be honest, I'm the same way with you."

"And we're _both _the same way about the kids."

"Exactly."

The first thing they did after that was tell her father about it. Even he thought that Korra was probably right. Something about that reasoning – as crazy as it was – put a few of the other mysteries together. The vines in Republic City were still fairly "new" for spirit vines, having been newly ripped into the earth only about twenty years ago. Plus, they were teeming with spirit energy. A company who was misusing spirit vine research would probably kill to get their hands on it...

As promised, Korra was to meet this top engineer. Though Eska and Desna weren't present, they were given a clear rendezvous point early that morning. She, Mako, Nuka and her father all set out to a particularly new looking building not too far away from the palace. After being directed to an open platform near the back of the building, they waited.

And they waited...

_And_ they waited some more.

They waited so long, in fact, that Nuka and her father started doing push up contests with each other out of pure boredom.

"What's wrong there, son?" asked her father with a grin, pushing up and down on his arms rather effortlessly. "Can't beat an old man?"

"You... wish!" puffed Nuka, struggling to do the same as his grandfather, his arms not pushing up and down as fast as they had when he'd first started nearly five minutes ago.

Amused, Mako shook his head down at his son, arms crossed.

"C'mon, Nuka. You have about fifty years on your grandpa," he laughed.

"Not..." Nuka huffed. "...helping, Dad!"

Standing next to Mako, Korra stifled a snicker as well.

"Hmm, if this the case," she began, teasing. "I can probably outdo you as well. Eh, sweetheart?"

"Don't help, Mom."

"Oh, relax, you're doing fine. Hey, you're granndpa's been around a long ti-"

"Oh, spirits, I am so sorry!" called a brisk, excited voice from behind. It made them all stop what they were doing and turn around to look in the voice's direction, Korra herself raising her eyebrows.

That voice... sounded oddly familiar...?

"Punctuality was never exactly my thing, but I'm sorry! Here I am, here I am! Korra, it's so nice to see you!" said a woman walking up to them.

As the woman approached, Korra, tried not to frown. _Did_ she know this woman...? When the woman got closer, Korra noted the messy dark hair falling over her shoulders, goggles shoved up into her bangs to reveal eccentric blue eyes. She was clearly Water Tribe with skin about Korra's shade, her face heart shaped and her build thin under layers of mechanic's clothes and a lab coat.

I do know her from somewhere, realized Korra.

Man, when had her memory gotten so bad?

"Oh my gosh." The woman stopped and a grin grew on her face. "Is that _Nuka? _You even brought your son with you! It's been so long!"

Nuka immediately rolled onto his belly at the sound of his name. He blinked and just about blanched.

"M-Miss Osina?" Nuka's mouth fell open, almost in horror and the name was still ringing bells in Korra's head, but she couldn't one hundred percent place it. Spirits, who _was _this?

She felt a tap on her shoulder and immeditely leaned in Mako's direciton. Of course, he would know. Mako never forgot a face.

"Osina." he whispered, covering up with a discreet cough. "Nuka's ex-girlfriend's mom."

Oh.

_Oh._

Korra traded looks with her husband.

Osina. Yes, this was Osina. This was _Sila's_ mother. Did that mean...?

As if on cue, a girl who resembled Osina had also approached them, her own braid holding back a mass of shoulder length brown hair framing a brown skinned face. She had a full bottom lip and serious blue eyes. In Korra's distraction, the girl had walked over to Nuka where he was laying down and Korra watched as her son stared up at the girl, clearly horrified at the sight of her.

"S-Sila!" He nearly yelped. "What are you doing here?"

Sila raised her eyebrows down at her ex-boyfriend, examining him curiously.

"_You_ are in the North Pole, Nuka. I _live _here. Better question... why are you on the ground?"

Nuka looked around, realizing his grandfather had picked himself onto his feet and Nuka was the lone soul still rolled on his belly. Immediately, he got up so fast Sila had to back up to keep from colliding with him and Korra reckoned he almost pulled something.

Now that she remembered exactly who this was, Korra smiled and turned back to Osina.

"Osina," said Korra, extending out a hand. "I'm so sorry I didn't remember you. It's been really busy since I last saw you, but I remember you now. Sila's mom."

"Yup!" said Osina, grinning, shaking both Korra and Mako's hands enthusiastically. "That'd be me. Mako, it's been a long time seeing you too! Yep, our babies were lovebirds last time I met up with you two-"

Nuka let out some kind of squeak and Sila scowled a little, looking away.

"_Mom_, not right now," grumbled Sila, crossing her arms pointedly. "Don't you guys have stuff to talk about? Serious things? Stop playing around..."

"Oh, honey, don't be embarrassed," grinned Osina, reaching out to squeeze her daughter's cheek and Sila visibly flushed. "It's been a long time since you've seen Nuka. A little awkward, but-"

When Sila glared daggers at her mother, Osina just smoothed down her daughter's hair, backtracking.

"Okay, okay, I'll back off," she said, amused. "Kids."

"Yeah..." chuckled Korra nervously.

"But, she _is _right," said Mako, smiling politely. "We do actually have a few things to discuss... Or rather, Korra does."

"Osina," began Korra's father. "This would be about Project Three-Fifty-Four...?"

"Oh... _oh,_" said Osina and she nodded vigorously. "Of course! You wanted to know about that! Sure, sure! Um... I know! I'll take you down to the basement and we can talk there! Okay, you three follow me. Sila, why don't you stay here with Nuka and just catch up. Okay, sweetie?"

Before anybody could even answer, Osina had already whisked herself awaym heading toward wherever would lead them to the basement. Looking back as she walked fast to keep up, Korra looked over her shoulder and wished her son the best of luck.

Lion he was. Kitten he was also.

* * *

**Nuka**

* * *

Nuka almost couldn't breathe standing in front of Sila. She was an entire head shorter than him and, still, right now she scared him more than anything in the world. It wasn't a fear of pain exactly, but one of sheer awkwardness. He knew what he'd done. Certainly, she hadn't forgotten it.

He didn't know what to say. Right about now he would love to be downstairs with everybody else talking about spirit vines and not facing his girlfriend who seemed eerily unbothered by him in a certain way. Then again, he supposed that was his problem and half the reason they were here like this in the first place.

"Um..." he began, unsure of what else he should say if he should say anything at all. "Hi."

Sila gave him a look and he sighed.

"Hey, I don't know how to do this."

She shook her head at him.

"I'm not going to execute you," she said, turning to walk away. "Come on. We might as well do a little bit of sparring if we're going to wait."

He started to walk after her tentatively, but stopped dead in his tracks.

"Wait. Spar? Are you sure?" Now, he _did _wonder if she wanted to hurt him. "You're... okay being around me?"

Sila turned around, looking unimpressed with a brow raised.

"You're a person I know. I'm a person you know. I've been stuck here in the labs all day waiting for my mom to be done," she said. "And my whole world doesn't revolve around you in case you're wondering. Now, are we going to do this or not?"

Hesitantly, Nuka nodded.

Should he have been relieved... or scared...?

He supposed it was time to find out.

* * *

**Korra**

* * *

"Osina-" Korra had tried several times to start the conversation about the spirit vines with Osina, but the woman had been rattling on all the way down to the basement as they passed by large machinery, grinding gears and an amazing amount of things that Korra had no clue even existed. "Osina, please-"

"-and here we have the generators that run the place. Basement's not too far now! On the right are the gears that run the..."

Korra sighed and Mako put a hand on her shoulder.

"I'm going to have so much fun with this," said Korra under her breath.

Mako smiled.

"She was always..." he began.

"Excitable," her father finished.

"I know," said Korra. "I'd forgotten."

Though Korra had only met Osina a few times, she was still a very nice woman. Nice, if not a little bit on the overly enthusiastic side. Whenever anybody asked what she did for a living, spirits help you once she got started because it was like nobody could get her to reel it in when she began talking about her mechanics. It was like having an Asami that was constantly excited and always wanted to tell you about the stuff she'd built. Not that Korra minded exactly, but right about now was not the time for flippant discussions...

They finally got down to the basement and the second they'd closed the door, Korra put both hands on Osina's arms as if to still such vibrant energy.

"_Osina_." Korra looked her dead in the eye. "Can I please talk to you about this project I keep hearing about?"

"Sure, sure!" Osina nodded excitedly. "Go on. I'm listening. It's a neat project, isn't it? I haven't really been able to show anybody but Chiefs Eska and Desna around the facility lately, so it's so good to have-"

"Osina, we really need to talk about these spirit vines," said Korra, cutting across her. "I'm sorry, but that's mainly why I'm here."

"Oh, I know, that's what Project Three-Fifty-Four is about and-"

"-you're using spirit vines?" asked Korra, half incredulous. "Osina, how? Why? I thought that someone as brilliant as you would know why that's not a good idea."

Osina shook her head.

"Korra, the spirit vines, just- the research I was doing was getting great results. Harnessing it. Varrick's prior research to it twenty years ago was hard to crack, but I got it and the things we could further do with it are _incredible._ Controlling it was the issue, but once I found a way to control it, the battle was merely applying it to human applications."

"But?" asked Korra. "The chiefs have all informed me that there is a but."

Osina's face actually faltered and she sighed.

"I began working with this developmental company, Tsai Labs. Applying the spirit energy for human application was something that was hard to do just by myself and just my team, so... I called in a favor. I've been working with them for several months, but... I believe that some of the research is or, well, perhaps _has_ already been used outside of my scope. Rather, I don't believe. _I know_. I've gathered a lot of inside information about them-"

"Spying?" frowned Mako. "That's kind of dangerous, don't you think? These companies like to guard their secrets very well. I should know. I've had to dispatch officers for it."

"I know and there's been a couple of close calls, but I guess what I'm trying to say is... well," Osina swallowed hard. She cringed and Korra knew this was going to be bad. "I believe that Tsai Labs have been applying the spirit vines to..._ actual people._"

Korra's eyes widened and her mouth dropped slightly.

People...?

_Living people?_

"Using the spirit vines on _people? As in human beings?_" Korra shook her head in disbelief. "That can't be. How's that-"

"If there's anything I've learned it's that anything's possible," said Osina. "I don't know for sure, but just from the tidbits of information I've gathered here and there and all the independent research I've done... that's even where I've been recently. I went to their Republic City location to work there for a little while, but I just... I've just found some disturbing things. It's all so hard to explain and I have this huge file locked away that makes it make more sense."

"I'm going to need to see that file," said Korra. As brilliant as Osina was, Korra could also see where _explaining _all that information was not in her strong suits.

"We are..." agreed Mako, frowning. "But what kind of disturbing things come off the top of your head...?"

"Well..." began Osina. "For instance, I didn't know that Dr. Tsai, Dr. Yao Tsai that is, I didn't know he had a daughter. I've worked alongside Dr. Tsai a few times as it is and I've never heard of him having a family. I mean, when I was in Republic City, one of his oldest assistants let it slip when I was talking to him. Apparently, he has a daughter named Naomi Tsai. I've never heard of her. Seen her. Not even a picture. That's... strange."

"He could just be a private man," suggested Mako.

Osina shook her head.

"We work long hours together. Often into the night. You get to talk about things and family, well, that tends to come up. But Dr. Tsai is also just kind of strange. He has an _over_ fixationwith the vines. If anything goes wrong, his temper flares up. His assistants are terrified of him. But he's strangely a kind man. If not a little weary and a little..."

"Not there in the head?"

Osina nodded at Mako.

"Call it mother's intuition or what you want, but something's just off there. When that lab assistant let it slip he had a daughter, I was mentioning that Dr. Tsai was always in a funny mood and he said that it'd been like that since his daughter. He caught himself though. I just pretended like I didn't hear it."

"I see..." Korra grimaced. Spirit vines possibly being used on people? Somehow? And the man largely involved in said issue has a daughter nobody knew about. It sounded like the beginning of some horror mystery novel and Korra was ready to throw up. What the _flameo fuck _was going on?

"What else?" asked Mako. "There has to be more."

"List of names I've found deep in their files and databases. Shouldn't have been in there, but I went snooping anyway. I don't really get questioned around there too much. Some stuff I found accidentally, like encrypted files of locations and all kinds of things. It's a lot. More than I can explain really. Strange... diagrams to say the least. There's funny stuff going on at Tsai Labs and all things I found when I got curious and would venture deep into their most secret file bases late into the night. I'd just come back and say I forgot something. The most disturbing thing though has to be an encoded list of what sounded like spirits. I swear it. Ones I've all heard about too that's how I know. A list of spirits with their names crossed out. "

Mako blinked.

"...like a hit list?"

After a moment of thinking, Osina nodded.

Korra raised an eyebrow.

"But you can't kill spirits. At least, humans certainly can't. It just doesn't work like that."

Osina only shrugged.

"I'm sure we could sit down and I could go over everything with you, but the file is locked away very deep underneath the building. I had to keep it locked away. I was going to do it anyway, but chiefs' orders."

"Okay, then," said Korra. ":et's go get it."

"Can't."

"Can't?"

Osina nodded.

"...why?" asked Mako slowly.

"I have to make a key. It takes a day or two. I don't like having one around. The stuff is super sensitive. Honestly, even now I can't really say much because you won't really understand it until I have the pieces to show and explain to you. I know it makes no sense whatsoever, but you'll understand when I show you, besides... it's not incredibly pretty when you start putting it together. "

Korra didn't say anything and just stared. She just wanted to _scream_. So, basically, something _so _terrible and convoluted was going on that a certified engineer couldn't just outright tell her what it was? Spirit vines being used on people? Missing daughters?

I'm going to be sick, thought Korra.

"Okay, well, fine. I guess I can wait. Guess I'll have to, but now on to the next issue," frowned Korra. "Osina, _why _do you have spirit vines around in the first place? _How? _That doesn't make any sense."

"The spirits gave them to me," said Osina simply.

Korra blinked.

"...I'm sorry?" she said, patting her ear with the base of her palm. She couldn't have heard that quite right.

"See, the spirits gave them to me when I asked-"

"Wait, wait, hold on," Korra stopped her. She'd had enough of this for today. How much more madness was she going to have to deal with in the next week? She didn't want to know, but by all that was good _when did it end?_ "Start from the beginning."

Biting her lip, Osina sighed.

"Okay, I've been into medicine for a long time now. I've been studying just _anything_ with possible healing properties that can be harnessed and help the Water Tribe produce exemplary medicine. Well, people know that spirit energy has been said to heal some of the most grievous wounds. Sometimes ones normally fatal. Even Avatar Aang himself was said to have experienced this using spirit water from right here in the North Pole! And Korra you _know _how disease gets up here. You know... my husband was a part of that. The last real outbreak almost ten years ago. I... I guess I've been determined to find something. And then it hit me one day when I was watching the spirit portal with Sila. If only that energy could be used to help people and... there had to be a way, right? Varrick had once used it, but he was using it for war. I took a chance and went to ask the spirits near the spirit portal if it'd be okay to take a few samples with me. He was a strange spirit, but more of a man. Very kind. Carried a tea pot... he let me take a few. It was really that simple. And it went from there..."

Iroh? The only spirit she knew of that loved tea so much he carried a tea pot around would be Iroh. Well, she had somebody else she had to talk to. It "just being that simple" didn't sound quite right. Since when did spirits just let people take spirit vines?

Korra sighed.

"Alright, alright... fine. Just... I'll deal with that. In fact, why don't you take me to where exactly you got these vines from? I'd like to see something."

"Just right next to the spirit portal. Pretty accessible on foot," said Osina. "I can take you there tomorrow morning. I have a ton of stuff to catch up on and everybody kind of needs my attention today. See, I-"

"That's fine," said Korra before Osina could get too far in another long-winded explanation and she rubbed the bridge of her nose. Couldn't get the key for the file. Couldn't go to the spirit portal. The only thing she really _could _do really was maybe try to meditate into the spirit world and talk to Iroh tonight.

The meeting ended with Korra feeling rather inconclusive. It felt as if there were so many things that they _could _be doing right now, but this little thing and this little that was stopping her from doing them. No file because no key. Couldn't go to the spirit vine site because Osina was too busy today. In perfect honesty, she wanted to inspect the site. If what they all suspected might have been true and Tsai Labs _were _horribly misusing the vines then she wanted to see if there were going to be any abnormalities like she saw on the Republic City vines. If so, perhaps she'd found her first _real _lead. Whatever the case, Tsai Labs was clearly caught up in this web somehow.

Wandering around the plant a little more, Korra raised her eyebrows at the sight of her son sparring with Sila.

"Impressive," chuckled Mako, putting an arm around her.

"Yeah," she said, smiling a little. "Here I thought he was going to be a lot more awkward with this."

"Like I was, you mean?"

"That's exactly what I mean. You were the most awkward ex-boyfriend ever. You _made _that more awkward than it had to be."

"Hey, I wasn't exactly good at that kind of thing," he said, mock defensively. "And I'm just glad that our son is a lot better at it than either of us were. _And _it doesn't look like Sila is earnestly trying to kill him."

Indeed, it seemed that she was honestly and fairly treating this like a spar.

"Perhaps we should leave them alone," said Korra, tugging Mako along. "We'd probably be in the way."

"Agreed. It's been a while since they've last spoken. I don't think he'd want us interfering."

* * *

**Nuka**

* * *

The more Sila swung her wooden sword, the more he was impressed. Her sword was encased with ice she'd bended around it just like he remembered she used to do. Apparently, she'd been practicing because by now he'd only won a handful of times versus how much he used to win in the past. Then again, she always did tell him he got a habit of getting rusty at times.

She blocked his attack with her shield and used the opening he momentarily left to tap his side with her ice-sword. He sighed.

A handful and one.

"Probending," she said, her sword and shield resting at her sidse. "I can tell that you still do a lot of probending. You throw mostly punches."

"And I can see you do a lot... everything," he said, shrugging awkwardly. "But... yeah. I still do a lot of probending."

"And you're too stiff. Loosen up," she said, getting back into stance.

And this was Sila. She was just non-stop. In a way, she reminded him of Tikaani the way combat was her life, but at the same time he had a certain appreciation for the way her criticism was constructive. Underneath the soldier was something gentle that, even now, he couldn't describe.

But spirits, he wished he'd quit thinking of all these things. It was so hard though. He'd missed so much about her. Her every movement made him twitch to attention. The color of her lips, her thick hair, the graceful way she moved.

"You're distracted."

And her scary intricate attention to detail.

He shook his head.

"Sorry. I just kind of..." He trailed off. "Yeah..."

Now, it was her turn to sigh.

"I'm not going to hurt you," she told him, frowning. "We're _sparring _Nuka. We've done this a thousand times."

"I know, I know... it's just been a while. You know? I'll admit, it's... too easy."

Sila looked at him, still frowning, and raised her eyebrows slightly. She rested out of stance again and gestured for him to follow.

"Let's just walk then."

Just walk? That's all she wanted to do now?

He did as she asked and easily caught up to her. They walked in silence for a while, just kind of looking around the facility. Sila would occasionally make a comment about what they were researching in individual rooms, but aside from that they were mostly quiet as they strolled along. Quite frankly, Nuka didn't know what to say back. He was puzzled. Now, he hadn't expected her to lop his head off at the sight of him, but he also hadn't expected her to be _this _calm. It was eerie. Almost unsettling.

"Stop thinking so hard about it," said Sila, looking up at him suddenly. "You're always thinking so hard."

"But why are you so calm about this? You should hate me."

"Nobody should hate," she said calmly.

"But it would make sense if you did."

She put an arm out in front of him to stop him and they just stood there in the middle of the whirring facility and all it's buzzing machinery above, below and around them.

"Do you want me to hate you?"

Nuka sputtered.

"What? No! I just think it's a lot more complicated than that! I... I don't know. I don't know anything right now, but I thought you would just have more to say about what I... what I did."

Break your heart, he thought to himself miserably. Broke your heart the second I got that the letter you told me you loved me in for the first time. Even when I loved you and wanted to say it back.

He was an idiot and he wished she would be mad at him more. It would almost make this easier to deal with than all her calm. But... he guessed that was part of the charm with her. And she knew him. She knew all the things to say and it was just so _natural _for her. It was half infuriating because...

Because _spirits _how he'd missed her. He'd shut down every part of his brain that tried to make him remember that.

"I'm... happy to see you," she said simply, almost hesitantly, and Nuka let out a breath. He opened and closed his mouth several times like a gaping fish. "For the record though, just because I'm happy to see you doesn't mean I'm not upset about that it happened."

"Sila..." he said her name for what felt like the first time in forever. "I just... I'm sorry."

"I know you are," she said and, to his surprise, extended her hand. "But everything in your life

doesn't have to be so complicated."

Smiling a little, he shook her hand.

No, he supposed. It didn't.

-:-:-:-

"You doing okay there, kid?"

Nuka's father asked as they arrived back at his grandparents house. Everybody else had gone inside, but his father clapped him on the shoulder and steered him away. Nuka almost didn't answer him, but just sighed and shrugged in response.

"C'mon," said his father. "Let's take a walk."

They walked down a road nearby in relative silence. Not uncomfortable exactly, but Nuka didn't know what to say because, well, he wasn't sure how to feel.

"Just let it out, son," said his father finally.

Making a face, Nuka went on, taking a deep breath.

"Okay, so Sila was actually fine seeing me? But she's still upset about me breaking up with her. But she's fine with it too. I guess she's trying to make it easy on me, but I'm not sure I _want _it to be easy on me. I mean, I do, but I don't _deserve _that," said Nuka anxiously.

"You wanted to her to be mad at you?"

"No—yes! I don't know!"

They stopped and his father sighed, turning to him.

"Let me let you in on a little secret that's not exactly a secret," began his father. "I felt the exact same way with your mother when we first broke up. It was really awkward and I made it even more awkward by trying to distance myself from her. Nuka, just take it from me. Go with it. She's trying to reach out and work with you because she gets that you have feelings about it too. Not everybody who gets broken up with is that understanding about it. Count it a blessing."

"I know..." Nuka almost whined.

"I know you feel guilty," said his father, smiling. "But that's part of the reason why she's probably trying to be easy on you. Feelings are complicated things you know. She's probably more upset at the situation than at you. Sila was always the sensible type as I remember it."

"Yeah," said Nuka quietly, almost fondly thinking about it. "I kind of missed it actually. Everything out of her mouth just makes sense... even if I don't get it... does _that _make sense?"

His father laughed a little.

"It does. She doesn't make things really complicated. And she's straightforward and rational. You like that. Find it endearing. _She _may be not quite so easy to figure out, but her way of going about things isn't hard or painful to deal with... even if you're feeling guilty and you want it to be."

Nuka tried to smile and nodded. His father said it best.

"I know, son. I know. Love's hard. Try not to think about it so much. You have a chance here to be and stay on good terms. Just start with that. Alright?"

"Yeah... thanks, Dad." Nuka nudged his father gratefully. "I'll try."

"Easier said than done, I know. You're alright, son. If you were being a big jerk about anything here then I would tell you and so would your mother. Speaking of which, tomorrow she and Osina will be going out to the spirit portal tomorrow. I'm probably going to stay here with your grandparents though and do some other poking around. You going with her?"

Nuka shrugged slightly.

"Maybe? If she lets me. Spirit portal stuff seems super Avatar-y. Not sure if she feels comfy letting me that deep into the territory."

His father nodded in acknowledgment, scratching his chin absently. Sometimes, Nuka just looked at his father, noting the grey streaks in his black hair and the lines around his mouth and eyes. How much did his father worry? Surely, a lot – his father worried about everything to be honest – and sometimes Nuka just wanted to help him ease up.

"You know, Dad... I could probably go with you tomorrow. Sleuth around with you... if you'll let me."

His father raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah? I'll just be investigating files and such, but there will sure be a lot of paperwork to go through... if you'd like." His father smiled. "I could use the help. And it would make your mom feel a whole lot better knowing you're with me."

Nuka smiled.

"Sounds good, then. I can miss out on adventures with mom tomorrow. It's not like there won't be more. Don't worry, Dad. I got your back."

His father laughed a little, swinging an arm around Nuka's shoulders as they walked.

"I appreciate that, son."

* * *

Wow, so, this chapter revealed a bit, but an important bit that perhaps is going to give you some kind of understanding what's going on behind all of this. The seeds, for the most, part have already been planted and a lot is hiding in plain sight. I'm really excited to really get into it, but I can't reveal too much now! But, introducing, Sila and Osina! Sila being Nuka's ex and and Osina her mom. As you can see, Osina is very scrambled in her way of doing things. There was actually supposed to be a (second) husband and another daughter, but I wanted really to focus on these two characters while we're here and not split that time too much.

But again, don't want to reveal too much.

As always, guys I love it when you drop those reviews! They really keep me going and keep me writing so I can get the next chapter out even faster! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


	13. Korra: The Northern Portal

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

* * *

****Korra: The Northern Portal  
****

* * *

"Are you ready, partner?"

Osina's voice came over the phone and Korra almost crushed it. For the love of – the sun wasn't even _up yet_. She only got so much sleep as it was. Even less, peaceful sleep with her husband's arm draped over her waist.

"Osina..." said Korra groggily. "It can't be earlier than five in the morning right now-"

"-actually, it's four am-"

"And I _realize _that it takes a second to get to the spirit portal, but when I said we'd leave early I meant more like... eight. Or even nine. You know? A few hours from now?"

"Yes, but according to my calculations, if we get moving soon we'll be at the spirit portal at the optimal time of the sun's position and spiritual energy at times coordinates with the rise of the sun and moon and-"

"Osina, I want I to sleep."

"No worries! I can drive the truck! I'm a decent driver if I do say so myself even if Sila thinks I need more work..."

Korra sighed as Osina rambled off on the phone.

She was not up for this right now...

Was _nothing_ sacred?

Finally, Korra put the phone back up to her ear when Osina seemed to be done talking.

"...are you ready, then?"

"That I am! I have my backpack on me and everything!" said Osina and Korra could already tell she was nodding vigorously. "Try not to drink so a lot so we don't have to stop too much, but bring some snacks if you can and we can get there-

"I'll meet you at your facility in half an hour."

And Korra put the phone down, rubbing her forehead tiredly. Was it terrible that she wanted to cry at the moment? Some days all she wanted to do was _sleep_. Sleep and rest and just relax, but she knew that she shouldn't complain. After all, this had been her job for decades at this point. Still though. Sometimes she wondered how long she could keep this up.

She heard a chuckle and looked over her shoulder at Mako.

"What's so funny over there?" she scowled at him a little.

"Looks like somebody has to get up early," he said, a smile on his face even if his eyes were closed.

"Oh, you shut up before I make you get up with me," she said, half-grumbling. "I really didn't mean _this _early. Man, I just want to _sleep_ for once."

At that, she felt Mako's arm tighten around her waist. She brought her hand over his, squeezing it a little out of reassurance. By now, she knew his touch and that was his "worry squeeze" where she felt like he just wanted to hold her close and never let her go.

"Are you actually okay?" he whispered seriously. "Because you know it's not that hard to call her and tell her to wait a couple hours. You know I'm always telling you that you need to rest."

"I know," said Korra tenderly now, stroking the back of his hand with her thumb. "But no. I have to get up. She's probably a bit right about setting out early anyway. We want to get there as soon as possible and it's not exactly a trip to the supermarket."

He kissed her shoulder as she shifted around to get up.

"If you're sure."

"I am," she reassured him. "Honestly, I'm just glad I don't have to fight with Nuka over coming with me. Him wanting to help you instead of coming along is the best thing right now. There aren't too many things that make me more tired than arguing with your son."

"Yeah..." snorted Mako. "He reminds me of someone I know..."

Standing up, Korra loftily tossed her pillow over his face.

-:-:-:-

The deep tundra, past the streets and the buildings and towards the _actual _location of the North Pole was like a sea of snow and ice as Korra always remembered it. The beam of the portal to light the way, Korra concentrated on it's light in an attempt to meditate on it, but found that rather impossible being stuck in the same car with Osina. _How _that woman could drive and talk so much was beyond her, but Korra's temples were beginning to ache from all the pressure she'd been applying to them and that wasn't exactly helping with the headache she'd developed from the her lack of sleep.

"...and I come out here all the time just to look around, but Sila really thinks I shouldn't come out here if I don't have to. She's a little superstitious even if she doesn't like to admit it. She probably gets that from her father since he was always a bit more wary of the spirits than I was, but speaking of spirits," chattered Osina. "I notice that some like to hang out during certain parts of the day and I wonder-"

"_Osina_." Korra cut her off, taking her head off her hands, glancing at the driver's seat.

"Oh, yes?" piped Osina

Even from just a side view, Korra could see the pleasant and somewhat excited look in Osina's eyes and couldn't bring herself to be harsh on the woman. After all, she seemed very willing – eager really – to help with their current situation... even if she was part of the reason why they were kind of in it. Though Korra wasn't about to blame that all on her. Clearly, there were forces out of her control here and there was still the issue of Iroh giving her the spirit vines in the first place.

"Uh, do you know how far in we are?" asked Korra, knowing full well their distance to the portal. "I kind of wasn't paying attention."

"Halfway there. Not to worry," said Osina, nodding and keeping her eyes on the road.

There was a rare moment of silence between them that Korra grew suspicious of. She kept on glancing at the woman, unable to shake off the sudden quiet. It made her feel a bit guilty to be honest. Had Korra hurt her feelings? After all, Osina wasn't an idiot in any sense of the word.

"I'm sorry," said Osina rather kindly. "I know I talk a lot. I guess that sometimes I need to fill the space."

Korra blinked and sat up straighter.

"No, don't be sorry," said Korra gently. "I'm sorry. I... don't mean to treat you like that. You're incredibly smart and know so much. It's really helpful... I'm just-"

"Stressed? I can tell."

Korra smiled a little.

"That obvious, huh?"

"I've been there," shrugged Osina, calmer than Korra thought she ever could be though still rather cheerful in the way her tone rose. "Still there... you must be there a lot more often as the Avatar and all."

"Not all the time." Actually, yes, she was there all the time, but saying so felt too much like whining. "But... enough I suppose."

Osina smiled knowingly even from this angle and Korra sat back in her seat, fairly grateful that someone got it without her having to explain it all. She didn't enjoy talking about Tikaani being gone and the world feeling as if it was about to split in two. It was hard enough trying to fix the world, hard enough trying to live in it knowing her daughter was somewhere out there... trying to run away from her entire family because of her mother.

It broke her heart every time she even thought about it.

Another silenced lapsed, but one far more comfortable than the last. They rode on for a good while, a certain understanding between the two women it seemed. Korra got it too. Osina didn't need to be reminded that she'd probably made a mistake with the vines and Korra found it okay that she hadn't exactly apologized for it... she'd been there herself. Both women just wanted to be proactive about things. Apologize and feel sorry for yourself later. Fix the issue at hand now.

As the silence stretched on, Korra got genuinely curious. She'd met Osina a few times beforehand, in the year before last when Nuka was still dating Sila. Now, she wondered about a few things that she wasn't sure she should ask about, but...

"So, um..." began Korra, cautiously. "Can I ask you something?"

"But of course," chirped Osina, grinning and apparently enjoying being the object of Korra's curiosity. "Ask away!"

Korra nodded.

"Well... I was wondering, if I may, what exactly _did _happen... with your husband...? I never did really know the whole story exactly..." When Osina's grin faltered, Korra immediately backtracked. "B-but it's okay! You _don't _have to answer if you don't want to. Really. I'm sorry, I shouldn't have-"

Osina shook her head.

"No," she said softly. "It's okay. Baoki was a pretty open book. I think he'd like to share all parts of his life with people... especially the Avatar... um, well, I guess I'll start with _who _he was. If that's okay...? I don't get to talk about him a ton."

"Of course," urged Korra.

It took her a moment, but Osina looked like she swallowed hard and went on.

"Baoki and I were kind of crazy together I guess. He balanced me though. Encouraged me... we were studying plants and herbs when he died. He really loved researching the life cycles of plants and I often did spin offs of his research. Things he wanted to research, but only had so much time in the day for and he trusted only me to get the best work done. Always told me we were like part of each other's brains. We were a team." Osina smiled fondly, but only for a moment. "And then... when Sila was seven, that really bad fever hit the North Pole. It was... it was bad. I'm sure you've heard of it."

Korra pursed her lips, nodding. The terrible fever that hit the North Pole so hard it affected more than a third of the population at one point and killed about almost a third of the people infected. With a death toll like that, it reminded the Water Tribes just how dangerous their isolated positions were. Where there were walls, there was also a cage in some sense. Disease spread quickly and the North Pole was lucky the damage hadn't been worse than that. Apparently, they'd sought to do something about it since then.

And, now, Korra felt even worse for asking. This woman had lost her husband to something she couldn't even fight. Korra wasn't sure what she'd do if something like that took Mako or Nuka or Tikaani or anybody she loved for that matter. All her life, she'd been able to fight off threats with her bare hands, but you couldn't exactly fight an illness. At least, not in that sense. Treatments weren't always reliable either. Compared to the rest of the world, the Water Tribes were, admittedly, behind on medicinal technology being so isolated from all the other nations and the healers could only do so much even with their bending.

"I'm sorry..."

"I am too," whispered Osina, finding her voice again before she continued. "Well, as you can guess, Baoki was one of the ones infected. He died early on in the epidemic... I had to give away all his plant you know. Burn them? We had to take real good care about his belongings in case they got Sila and I sick as well... I... I didn't know what to do. For a good while there I was in a slump. I tried and failed to pick up things to do, I mean, it's not my nature to sit around, but I was just aimlessly throwing myself into any kind of work and research. _Anything _to get my mind off of Baoki being gone. That's even how Sila got her sword and shield, y'know? I designed it for her after her father died. Our family had gone to Kyoshi Island the summer before and she was so enamored with the shield they showed her... I just needed to do something to keep my mind busy. She loved it and it made things more alright.

"I guess... I guess seeing her smiling face when she got it, even though her father was gone now, it reminded me of something. Something Baoki and I always used to do whenever our research would fall wayward or go nowhere."

"What's that?" Korra asked softly.

Osina truly smiled now.

"Start over," she said, proudly. "Just start all over. He would just be like 'darling, this was a dunce, but we're still alive and kicking so let's see what else is out there' and he'd get me all excited about it and just make it an adventure. Even when we failed really badly, we always just figured it was never too late and I always told him that nothing was unfixable and just... it was great. It was just great the way he looked at the world... the way we taught each other to look at the world...

Looking at Osina now, Korra could understand what she saying completely. By nature, Mako was a worrywart, but he was also one of the most supportive people in her life _ever_. No matter what, he always believed in her and her in him. They didn't always agree, but they would find a way to make things work, together. Would she fall completely apart at the seams if she lost him? Not exactly. She couldn't afford to. But she would definitely lose a major rock in her life and even she was going to have to take a second.

"When I got myself together, I started to study and research medicine. We used to dabble in that with the plants and... I don't want anybody else to die of something totally preventable. It's sad. Too sad. That's how I got to the idea with the vines. Obviously, it's gone haywire, but... I can do something about it and now.. now, I'm starting over," said Osina, flexing her hands on the steering wheel. "I'm starting over cause' I've got things to fix. I know that I made some kind of mistake with the vines. I should have kept a better track of where the research was going and who to, but now I'm here to fix it. And you here to help me makes me feel better... Avatar."

Korra blinked at Osina for a moment, but a smile spread across her lips. Perhaps they weren't so different after all.

"Just Korra's fine. You and I aren't strangers, after all."

-:-:-:-

Reaching the portal was smooth sailing from there. Korra talked to Osina about Nuka a little bit and his fear with being around Sila. Osina sniggred.

"Oh, she's not upset. I mean, she _is_. But my baby doesn't hold grudges over that. Besides," she said. "It's not like she didn't eventually find out about... the stuff you and your family were going through."

"Yeah..." said Korra quietly. She was a little more open to talking to Osina about it now, but the subject as a whole wasn't something she cared to reexamine again and again. She did that often enough on her own. "I'm glad she's not upset with him specifically."

"With Nuka? Oh no." Osina shook her head. "I don't think she could ever be mad at him. Seriously, at least... ah, young love. Eh?"

Korra laughed a little.

"Tell me about it..." She surveyed the area they were coming up to, the portal now practically beaming directly in front of them. Sitting forward, she touched Osina's arm gently. "Okay, stop the car... we're here."

Putting on their hoods, they stepped out of the truck and trekked towards the portal, their legs sinking knee deep into snow as they came upon the forest that guarded it. Korra had been here before, always in times of trouble. It was different with the South Pole portal and the Republic City portal. She hardly came to the North Pole unless she needed to. Visiting it's portal, nonetheless, _from _the North Pole itself? Just about always meant trouble.

"Okay." Korra turned toward Osina. "I'm going to go in by myself. I need to speak to someone in private, but are you going to be alright here on your own? I was hoping that while I was gone you could survey the forest for me? Mainly the vines that have grown out under the snow if you could. _Just _the outside though. Don't go any deeper than that."

"Of course." Osina beamed. "Anything in particular I'm looking for?"

"Abnormal stuff. Anything that doesn't seem natural. You'll know it if you see it."

"Will do!" Osina saluted and slushed through the snow as fast as she could, clearly eager to get to work. Leaving her to it, Korra stepped through the forest, crouching under branches and stepping over roots until she came face to face with the glowing center. Entering, she knew the surroundings well. The spiral designs of the landscape where she and Vaatu had clashed over twenty years ago. To think, Harmonic Convergence felt so long ago to her, but in reality was barely a fraction of time in the grand scheme of things.

But now wasn't the time to get distracted by drifting thoughts.

She closed her eyes, listening and looking for the person she needed to see. Tea was the first thing she thought of. Then, she heard the rumbling, belly laughter she'd heard a few times before. Finally, she was moving without moving, being rushed through the world at a speed she could never move in the physical world and, yet, moving so slow at the same time. It was a feeling she had mastered over the decades navigating the spirit world from time to time.

All at once, the feeling slowed to a stop.

"Hello, Korra."

She was in a clearing with lush greenery under her feet and a large mountain behind Iroh holding his teapot. Korra smiled, happy to see the man even if the reason why she was here wasn't exactly pleasant.

"Iroh." She nodded in greeting. "It's good to see you."

"As it is to see you. How have you been?" he asked.

"Busy," chuckled Korra. "Very busy. And you?"

"Oh, I've been alright. But you now... you I sense have something to speak with me about if you've come all this way."

Korra's face faltered a little and she sighed.

"Iroh, we need to talk about these vines. The spirit vines. Something's wrong. In the physical world I mean."

Iroh stoked his bead with a small frown.

"Yes."

She blinked.

"You know?"

Iroh shook his head. "That I do not. But I do feel a... disturbance. Indeed, something is not right and I'm concerned that you of all people share my suspicions."

She sat down on the grass with, exhaling through her nose. "That's the thing. It's more than a suspicion. It's definitely real. In the past two weeks Air Temple Island was attacked and the Beifongs in Zaofu nearly murdered. Something is very wrong and I need to find out what, but I think... I think part of that might have to do with you."

"...that is not good news," said Iroh gravely. He then raised an eyebrow. "But please continue. I am not sure how I may be involved, but I am sure that I do wish to assist you. Tell me, Korra. Why are you here?"

She sighed through her nose one last time.

"Some five years ago you let a woman named Osina take spirit vines from around the portal. Since then, she's used the spirit vines and their energy in science that I believe the research for has fallen into the wrong hands... hands I think may be responsible for whatever is going on... I've even heard that the energy may be even being applied to humans. Iroh, I have to ask... _why _would you allow someone to have spirit vines? You basically gave them to her and after what Kuvira did to the swamp... why?"

Iroh looked at her for a moment, seriously, and stroking his beard for what felt like minutes in time. She waited patiently for his answer, neither angry nor happy with the situation at hand. The idea of Iroh having any kind of ulterior motive was nonsense. He was a very peaceful and kind spirit in the plane of life he lived now. What reason could he possibly have for doing so?

Finally, he spoke.

"I do remember the woman named Osina. Very clearly I remember her," he said, sitting down on the ground with her more easily than Korra would have thought. "I felt her come to the portal and I visited her as she paroused the forest. We talked. She told me of her life and I consoled her. She was in a very dark part of her life, but... she was reaching for the light. I could tell from talking with her that she knew there was still good in the world even though she had experienced a great loss. When she asked me if she could have a few of the vines, I gave them to her. She told me what she wanted to do with them and, having been human once myself, I sympathized with her."

"But that doesn't... _why_ did you give them to her? After everything?" asked Korra, eyebrows upturned. She didn't want to exactly say she thinks it'd made a mess of things, but at the same time it'd also really hadn't helped.

This time, Iroh smiled a little. "I believed in her."

Korra paused.

"...what?"

Iroh stood up, grabbing his teapot off the ground as he did.

"I believed in her. I believed in her vision and what she was doing. I allowed her to have the vines because I felt something about her. She was a good person."

Korra shook her head.

"But Iroh, I... I'm sorry, I can't justify that. That was so dangerous. So, so dangerous. You had no idea what kind of person she really was! She could have been playing you the entire time!"

"It is rather hard to lie to a spirit, but... you are right. I didn't know that entirely."

"But you still did it anyway?"

Iroh smiled weakly.

"Korra. You are aware that spirits are not all knowing. We are beings in and of ourselves and even I was once a human. I sensed something pure about her and, for all that she talks quite a lot, she wanted to do good. True good for the world. It has been a long time since I've met someone like that. In fact, the last time was probably when I met you."

Korra stiffened. Back when she was seventeen and practically still a tadpole in the pond. She thought about her younger self and about her own decisions in life. Bringing back the spirits had arguably been the biggest and, of course, there were still people who felt like she made a mistake, but... she thought about Bum Ju and Bumi who both had lived together happily for years at this point, only made possible by the barrier Korra had broken down.

And back then, she was glad to have Iroh's support and confidence in her.

In a way, she supposed she understood.

"I... I guess so." Finally, she nodded and stood up as well, bowing to him with her fist in her palm. "I understand Iroh. Thank you. I still don't know how I feel about it to be honest or even if I agree... but I needed to know. I needed to hear it from your mouth."

Iroh nodded at her, bowing slightly himself.

"And for that I am appreciative. Until another time?"

Korra smiled fully now.

"Until another time."

-:-:-:-

When Korra went back to find Osina, apparently, no work had been done to the place that she could find. At least not on the outside. Of course, she wondered if maybe any had been taken from the inside, but she doubted that most people would be brave enough to go too deep into the forest. Then again, she still couldn't be certain. She'd checked herself once she was done talking to Iroh, but no signs of cutting or slicing of the vines were present.

A twinge was going up and down her spine.

Something was still wrong. Very wrong. She'd been feeling like this ever since the attack on Air Temple Island, but now she just couldn't get any peace it was so strong. Her hair stood on end nearly.

And Iroh had even said that he felt a disturbance. Why could he feel it? And the vines? Something was connecting the two and after hearing about possible spirit vine experiments being done on _people_ by this Tsai Labs she was hearing about now too much... she was actually a little afraid to find out.

Find out she would. There would be no doubt about that and she would make every effort to figure out what exactly was crawling beneath the surface of all this, but whatever it was... it just wasn't going to pretty at all, was it?

-:-:-:-

The inside was dark, only necessary compartments and things that needed to be seen illuminated by eerie green light. Space was cramped and the air hot. Though, in reality, the water and metalbenders in the back of the hulking frame of metal were probably sweltering the most as they helped propel the submarine forward.

In her room, Tikaani meditated, wishing that she was above water and not at all pleased to be underneath such frigid seas. She was a firebender and it didn't suit her very well to be surrounded by the thing that usually had it's way when it came to dousing her element. Still, she concentrated on her breathing as much as possible the way Master Jinora had taught her a thousand times over. It wasn't like she really had to worry about too many people passing by. The crew had been ordered not to disturb her, Namada and Gurana in their cabins unless it was absolutely necessary. Truthfully, it was the one thing she appreciated at the moment. Frankly, the last thing she wanted was-

A garbling noise come over the intercom that broke the patterns of her body and Tikaani's opened slowly.

"_Predator to operations. I repeat, Predator to operations._"

Tikaani stood up, resisting the urge to snort.

Predator indeed. What a codename.

What did she look like?

An animal?

* * *

Sorry this chapter took a second to get typed up!

Okay, this chapter seemed probably a bit transitionary for the most part, but there were some important seeds planted here with Korra's talk with Iroh and some symbolic stuff in that last scene that'll come up later as a whole theme of it's own. Of course, I can't be too spoilery!

As always, I love it when you guys drop those reviews! They really keep me writing and really keep me motivated so I can get those chapters out as fast as possible! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next time!


	14. Nuka: Besieged

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

* * *

******Nuka: Besieged  
******

* * *

Files and papers shifted under Nuka's fingers and he rubbed his eyes tiredly. What was he supposed to be looking for again? He had half a mind to ask his father, but even he was fully engrossed in his own stack of paperwork, obviously far more used to this sort of thing than Nuka was. Still, he felt like he was going to go blind at this point.

"What am I supposed to be looking out for...?" he asked, feeling groggy.

His father sighed.

"Well, honestly any name that ends with Tsai and doesn't start with Yao. I want to see if there's any paper evidence of this supposedly missing daughter of his. Who knows if he even has one, but if there's paperwork with her name on it then I want to see it."

Nuka nodded, glad to be reminded. It was an easy enough task, but... he slightly regretted not going with his mother to do more hands on things. He'd, frankly, rather brave the cold than this.

The only good thing about this was that Sila popped in every now and again to drop off more paperwork and the two of them had tried to make things less awkward. Or rather, Nuka tried not to be a baby about the whole thing.

"Do you think he has one?" asked Nuka, his chin resting on his fist as his eyes roamed a list of names. "Maybe he just didn't say anything."

"Yes, but, son, you have to learn that sometimes when people keep secrets that's an entire lie in and of itself. Not saying anything is sometimes the same as lying. If that makes any sense."

"It... doesn't." Nuka winced. "Sorry. I don't think my brain's working like it used to."

His father chuckled. "Believe me, I hear you. It can get kind of harrowing. I do this every day."

"Don't you miss being on the streets though?" asked Nuka. "I mean, this stuff seems like it'd drive someone insane."

"Well, I miss being able to help people personally, but I don't exactly miss the streets. I'd take paperwork over that any day," said his father, scratching the hair on his chin. "Don't get me wrong, I _can _give it to someone else to do, but then, what kind of police chief would I be?"

"One who likes his eyesight." Nuka snorted. "Okay, I'll admit that sounded like something Rama might say."

His father actually grinned this time. "Not surprising. You two are practically in your own 'no haircuts' club."

Nuka found himself absently brushing his hair back with his fingers. "Yeah, yeah. Some of us just were blessed with great hair."

"Hey, the rest of us just know where to find a barber."

Nuka grinned and they lapsed into silence again. Admittedly, he wanted to help, but... he was _bored_. In truth, he wanted to be out there with his mother in whatever she was doing. Both of his parents were very hands on when it came to things, but his mother had a tendency to be more hands on than his father. That being said, he had to admire his father for being able to sit through hours of this. Of course, it was due to years of practice and his job, but Nuka wasn't sure he could do this _all the time_.

He looked up when the door opened and flashed a small smile when Sila came in, but it fell as she waltzed in with another armful of files for them to go through.

"There's _more?_"

Sila snorted. "There's always more. We literally have rooms and room full of nothing _but _papers. Just be glad you only have to go through one of them."

"This is going to take forever." He rubbed his eyes for the umpteenth time that hout.

"Do you know what you're looking for?" she asked.

"I do. Well, I do _now_," he said, looking over at his father. "Dad, what are you looking for?"

"Lots of things," he said vaguely. "Several things, you know..."

Nuka blinked.

"Okay..." he said slowly. He looked back at Sila. "Well, it sounds like he's right in the middle of a few things in his head. Meanwhile, I'm just looking for one thing."

"Fun." said Sila, her lips twitching upwards.

"Loads."

Nuka's father pushed his pile of papers away from him and gestured for someone to bring over a new file for him to begin going through. Getting up, Nuka grabbed a random folder and handed it to him. "I'll start on one over here," he told him.

"No, actually..." His father rubbing his chin. "Why don't you go with Sila? Take a break. Go stretch your legs."

Nuka and Sila exchanged looks.

"Are you sure?" he asked slowly. "This is a lot to get through..."

His father chuckled. "Yeah, but I'm used to this and you're not. I think your eyes need a second to refocus. Otherwise, you'll just be so tired you might actually miss something important, right?"

Nuka thought about it for a second, turning his head side to side. He _supposed _that was a fair idea, but he also had a sneaking suspicious about his father's motives. Hoping and praying that his parents weren't cooking up anything weird concerning himself and Sila, he nodded and walked out with her. Sila was somebody he was just getting _used _to being around again. After all, it'd been a very long time. The last thing he needed were his parents, or anyone for that matter, making things uncomfortable. Sure, they were the Avatar and Chief of Police and that was cool and all... but that didn't mean they couldn't get a little, well, _embarrassing _from time to time.

His face must have been betraying his thoughts because Sila nudged him.

"I'm sure he's barely thinking about anything funny," she said. "If anything, it's almost like he just wants a little more space to concentrate. I'm a nice excuse."

Nuka sighed. "I hope so," he said. "I really don't want anything funny... as you put it at least. I wouldn't call it funny at all."

They rounded a corner and up a short flight of stairs. This hall was relatively empty compared to the rest of the building, Nuka noticed. It made sense though, considering all the sensitive material that was down there. As far as he knew, they had keys locked up with keys down here.

"Didn't you say they were broken up for a time though?" she asked. "I'm sure they would understand if that's the case."

"Yeah... a long time ago? _Way _before I was born. They were broken up for like... four years in total? No... five I think. I don't know. About four or five years. I can't remember. But it was for a good number of years before they got back together. It was weird for them at first too, but they were still close friends."

"Hmph." She smiled a little. "You're getting better at talking about it."

"It keeps getting brought up so." He shrugged. "If you can't beat them. You know the saying."

"I just don't think it's a big deal. It is what it is. I'm just glad you'll still talk to me."

Nuka frowned. "I never _not _wanted to talk to you... I just figured you wouldn't want to talk to me afterwards."

"Did I ever say that?"

"Well, no, but-"

"If I don't say it, then how were you so sure?"

Nuka didn't answer. He looked away, feeling his face heat up. Perhaps... his judgment had been hasty. But he'd just broken her heart after all. She told him that she loved him and he broke up with her? What girl was going to want to say two words to you after _that?_

"You worry too much," she finally said after a long moment, stopping in front of a particularly secure door, bolts an metal crossed all over it to keep it under wraps. "Still, I'm glad you talk to me now."

Nodding, Nuka followed her into the room after she unlocked it with a set of three strange looking angular shaped keys.

"Honestly... me too."

-:-:-:-

A few hours and several hundred papers later, Nuka sat down on a nearby chair, rubbing his eyes so hard they were beginning to hurt from the pressure. He sighed.

"I'm halfway convinced this guy never _had _a daughter. And if he did, why would we put them in all of this paperwork? What's the point? How does your mom even _have _all of this anyway?"

Sila didn't looked up as she filed through yellow and white report sheets. "It's part of the cooperation deal. They each have access to certain prior research in an effort to gain progress on the _current research_. They have some papers on us as well. These are all copies she had brought back with her when she went to Republic City. To answer your second question, the rumor is that his daughter was eighteen and working with him once she became a legal adult. If she did, then her name has to be scrawled out somewhere here. Besides, a lot of these aren't just reports and lab work."

"I know," he said, frowning at one particular handwritten letter. Part of his reluctant too was that he wasn't exactly feeling right about going through a man's filed away personal letters. The one he had in his hand was to an old friend it seemed. Nuka had an idea that _all_ of these weren't exactly obtained with permission. "It just feels wrong."

"It is wrong," she said. He looked up at her and this time, she looked back at him. "But if he's doing something he's not supposed to, then, something they're doing is wrong also. Two wrong's don't make a right, but if he's abusing my mother's spirit vine research then this is about people's lives... you know what I mean?"

Nuka swallowed hard. That was a heavy way of putting it. "Yeah, I do... this just all sounds pretty far fetched. We're essentially looking into a full blown conspiracy. I guess I'm still trying to wrap my brain around it."

Sila shrugged. "I'm used to these things. I guess that's what happens when you grow up around two genius scientists."

"You think you're mom's a genius." He smiled after a moment. "I've almost never heard you say that. Normally, you're getting all embarrassed by her."

"You've seen how my mother is," sighed Sila, picking up a new stack of yellow lab sheets now. "She gets more excited than a little kid."

"Nothing wrong with that."

"I never said there was. I'm just used to her is all. After a while, you get a little tired being around all that energy. Either way, I've always thought my mother was a genius. I just never felt I've had to say as much."

Nuka chuckled. "...you're still the same."

Sila blinked at him for a moment.

"What?"

"You're still the same. Always having an answer for everything. You've always been like that," he said, going back to his pile of papers when he saw her pause, then nod in a stiff acknowledgment. "Anyway, you finding anything yet?"

"No-" She suddenly stopped, staring hard and squinting at the bottom of what looked like an old handwritten note. "Actually... yes. I think I found something."

Nuka immediately got up, striding over to her corner across the room. The inflection in her voice rose in a way that he knew meant she had really found it. Or _something _at least. He bent over her shoulder to get a closer look. At the bottom of the sheet, Sila pointed to a faded out, but legible name signed in brushed ink.

"Naomi Tsai..." he read.

Why did that sound familiar?

"Yes, this must be it. Or... well, it's a start," she said, carefully putting the paper on a nearby desk and writing the name out on another blank sheet. She tucked the paper into her shirt. "It's just a little letter talking about someone's lunch. Don't even think it's directed to her possible dad, but it means that somebody named 'Naomi Tsai' exists."

Nuka nodded, still racking his brain for wherever that name was ringing a bell. "But I've _heard _that name before... I swear I have," he said. Sometimes, his dad brought home his work, especially when he was particularly absorbed in a certain case. "We need to get this to my dad right now. I wouldn't be surprised if he knows who this is with Tsai Labs based in Republic City."

-:-:-:-

"Your mission, above all else, is to capture Chief Eska and Chief Desna of the Northern Water Tribe. You have all been briefed on the layout of the palace as well as the catacombs beneath it. All three of you know what to do."

Tikaani stared at the blueprint visually laden with red and black ink pinpointing the most important bunkers for the royal siblings and even their individual children. She didn't respond with the enthusiastic 'yes, general' the way Namada and Gurana did, her eyes and mind fully concentrated on the maps spread across the metal walls in front of her.

"Predator?"

Tikaani's muscles twitched.

"Very well, General," she replied, not bothering to glance at the well poised tall, solid man standing just outside of her vision. She knew his brown eyes were trained on her in some kind of personal evaluation and she ignored it, going back to her own thoughts.

When the Northern Water Tribe realized that they had invaders, they would whisk the chiefs away, most likely, separately. It was the most common sense thing to do. However, they might also move them to an obscure location _together _just to throw their enemies off and instead move each chief's individual children off into all separate locations, ensuring that the heirs were secure during the anarchy.

One flaw remained in that plan, Tikaani saw.

Too many places and too many people to move. Too many people to separate. If they chose to separate everybody then that meant _somebody _would more than likely be in one of the bunkers, granting possibilities for their enemies to gain leverage on the situation. If they chose to put them all in one location or split in two locations, then it would simply be a sniffing out game until they found the right bunker. That left two options: escape the city entirely or moving bunkers so not to stay in one place too long.

If all went well, eventually, escape was going to be close to impossible. And moving too many times was risky in case they ran into those hunting them. That only left the chiefs' personal guardsmen as the big wall between they three hunters and their targets.

That all being said, majority of their options had some kind of loophole. Once stage two was allowed to come into play-

"Good." The general nodded curtly in dismissal. "Then get ready. We'll be arriving at the wall shortly."

-:-:-:-

Nuka's father took the paper from Sila and seemed to read it over a couple times before anything seemed to click.

"Of course!" he said, smacking the paper with the back of his hand as it apparently dawned on him. "Naomi Tsai. I remember that name. It wasn't my case, but I definitely remember it."

"You know her?" asked Nuka, frowning.

His father shook his head. "I only met her once on a hospital visit with your mother. Like I said, it wasn't even my case, but it happened a few years ago. You were just a kid so you probably don't remember it much. It was like... seven or eight years ago? I'd been made chief recently when it happened and, honestly, it was more of a huge headache for your mother," he said. "See, Naomi Tsai was a girl who wandered a bit too far into the spirit wilds in Republic City and apparently angered one of the spirits dwelling there."

Nuka shared looks with Sila. Spirits weren't like people. Angering one was always agreed to be somewhat of a terrible idea by most people's standards. From her expression, Sila thought the same. "What happened?"

"Well," his father went on more seriously. "It was... not pretty. Not pretty at all. The spirit attacked her. It possessed her and..."

"And what, Dad?" urged Nuka.

His father sighed. "If spirits possess you long enough it can have some permanent effect. To put it bluntly, it deformed her... I don't remember what _kind _of spirit it was, but whatever it was deformed her to the point that she had to be left in hopstial care and everything. According to your mother, she had breathing issues, weak bones in parts of her body... it was terrible. Your mother was really beating herself up during all of that. Think about it. Here she is, having returned spirits to the physical world and this kind of thing happens to that poor girl. It's _bound _to happen in some ways I suppose, but, of course, the press had a field day with it and there were all kinds of headlines about spirits being too dangerous to live among humans and it was just a mess. Created a bit of anti-spirit sentiment in the city too. Well, made it a quite a bit stronger anyway."

"What happened to her?" asked Sila.

"Honestly? We don't know," said Nuka's father, frowning. "They never pressed any charges. If you can even press charges against a spirit – I'm sure you can't – and they just disappeared. We never really heard much of anything from them and they just requested their family have their privacy while dealing with these issues. That's the last anybody ever heard of them after the press were onto their next story."

"Just... _gone_?" Nuka raised an eyebrow. "And nobody thought that was suspicious...?"

"Well, nobody thought they might be involved in spirit vine human experimentation at the time so that would be a no," said his father, putting a hand on his hip. "But, I know what you mean. I wasn't in charge of that case at all, but I _do _wish we could have convinced them to let your mother help them somehow. Then again, they probably wanted nothing to do with spiritual things after that. If she is who we think she is, then I have a bad feeling about this..."

"I just don't like the direction this is going at all." Nuka suddenly felt a little queasy. He could only _imagine _what that girl went through. Personally, he'd been raised around spirits all his life and he knew that some of them really just wanted to be left alone. Some of them really, really didn't like humans despite living in the physical world. Naturally, there were humans who would feel the same about spirits. "Do you think we can probably find her? To talk to her?"

"All we can do is try..." His father's eyebrows knitted together, worry etched into the grey of his hair and the lines around his mouth. It was a look that Nuka knew on him very well. "Okay, so your mother should be getting back very soon. I'm going to go wait for her near the back gates up on the cliffs. Elevated part of the city. I'm sure Sila knows what I mean if you need me. Why don't you two take a break for now? Sila, would you mind going to go check on that key for us? To the file? We should probably take a look at that as soon as possible."

Sila shook her head.. "I don't mind. Besides, it should be just about done by now. It only takes so long because the door that it's locked behind is made up of a particular metal. Any other metal used would probably break the key."

"Doesn't that sound a bit extreme?" asked Nuka, raising his brows.

Sila shrugged. "Safety precaution. Same reason why we destroy the key after we're done with it. It's a little trick of my mom's with metal mixtures and diamond cutters and all that. Complicated chemical stuff. I'll show you where we make it. It's just in the basement level a couple floors down."

"You two go do that." Nuka's father clapped him on his shoulder. "Nuka don't touch anything you're not supposed to."

Nuka made a face as his father left.

"I'm not _five,_" he called, his father waving him off as he shut the door behind him. He snorted, turning to ask Sila another question, but frowned at the site of her actually biting her lip. It took all of his power not to outright smile at it. "If you even _giggle _I'm going to tell your mom that you want to hear all about the plant research she's doing in that one room you showed me."

She actually laughed as they stepped out the door, going in the opposite direction of his father. "Go ahead, she's going to do that anyway. You have no ammo here."

She walked ahead of him and he wrestled down the serious urge to pout.

They got to the stairs, talking in length about her mother's latest idea for researching the way plants might react to music. It was an interesting idea to say the least.

"You think flowers might like jazz music?"

"They already react to sunlight," nodded Sila. "And she's so excited about it. Why not see what else they might react to? Considering everything else that's already true about them. I mean, not so much in a _conscience _sense, but their growth might be affected by different types of sounds reverberated at them. She thinks so."

"Well, if she's right, then maybe in the future we'll have flower fields where they play jazz music overhead. Sounds like something out of mover if you ask me, but..."

He trailed off when he felt the ground beneath him move. Did the ground just shake? Or was that just him? He wasn't feeling funny. But then he looked at Sila and saw her glancing at her feet as well with the same bewildered look on her face. Then, it happened again. Stronger. _Harder_ than before and Nuka braced the wall instnctively.

He looked at her. "What was _that?_"

Sila shook her head. "It wasn't anything in the building. At least, I don't think so."

It happened again and they could hear something in the other room break. They stood there, daring not to move too fast or else they be knocked to the ground or maybe a light fall right on their heads. The tremors and quakes were getting stronger, Nuka getting the urge to grab Sila by the wrist just in case, glancing up at the light over her.

When it seemed to have stopped. Were they having an earthquake? The North Pole wasn't exactly famous for their earthquakes. Blizzards, yes. Earthquakes? No.

"We... should go outside," said Sila, reaching out to grab Nuka's arm, pulling him away. "And get from under that light before it falls right on you."

Nuka glanced up at the light fixture just over him as they trotted down the hall and down a couple flights of stairs. They didn't even make it to the door before they ran straight into one of the lab assistants, running toward the exit.

"Hanami?" Sila gave her a hand up. "Hanami, what's going on? And where are you going?"

Hanami shook her head, panting as she caught her breath.

"The wall- I-I don't know. I-"

"What do you mean _the wall?_"

"I mean, the city walls. They've been _breached. _Somebody's blown a hole in the baase of the wall!"

Sila's mouth fell open. "_Breached? How? _That wall has sentries from corner to corner! That's impossible! Why wasn't there any warning? Did we miss it or-"

"No, it's just... _happened_. They bypassed all the ships. Nobody saw them. I-I don't know. I'm sorry, I have to go get my kids!"

As Hanami ran off, Sila turned toward Nuka, shaking her head. "I don't understand. With all of those ships and all of those sentries on the wall, it's impossible for us to be attacked with no fair warning."

But Nuka already had an idea. A surprise attack with no fair warning sounded a bit too much like the attack on Air Temple Island.

Nuka swallowed hard. "Not if they use submarines," he said, nodding for her to come with him. "Let's go. We need to find your mom and my parents."

Sila fell in beside him, knees bent, grabbing her shield from her back and sliding it onto her arm. Nuka, too, bended the water out of his water skin, his fists capped in hardened ice.

He was starting to get his own bad feelings as well.

-:-:-:-

"Oooh, so when we get back, we should stop by this squid place. The food there is amazing and I'm starving. Can't do any research on an empty stomach, you know." Osina grinned, still keeping her eyes on the road as the city came into view. "How long has it been since you've had some _authentic _Water Tribe food?'

"Eh, you'd be surprised what they have in Republic City," said Korra, chuckling a little. Man, was she tired. She wouldn't say as much, but they were only taking this truck because Osina wasn't a waterbender. Korra herself used her glider to get to and from the portal much faster and she could skip the scenery of snow and ice lulling her to sleep. Thankfully, talking to Osina was making time pass far better than it had been on the way there. When she got back to her parents house, if she could just manage to fit in a short nap it'd be great. "But I could use a meal. Besides, Mako's always making sure I get something to eat."

"Aww, it's so cute how he worries about you all the time," said Osina.

"He really does." Korra laughed. "He's such a hen. It's okay though. I get the same way with him and Nuka, but Nuka hardly forgets to eat. Boy's an athlete so we always have to make sure we have food in the house."

"My baby is so practical," gushed Osina. "She always eats so healthy and I never have to worry about it. If anything, she's the one who has to make sure I feed myself. Sometimes I just can't remember food, you know? She's such a good- is that smoke?"

Korra frowned, looking toward the stack of smoke rising to the sky. She narrowed her eyes, squinting at it and then there was a boom in the distance and another trail of fumes rose. Her heart stopped.

"Drive," she ordered, eyes fixated on the rotten air, nails clenched into her seat as she leaned forward. "Drive faster. As fast as you can."

"Sila..." It was all Osina could manage as she stomped her foot on the gas pedal before Korra even finished her sentence. Her own thoughts followed a similar train as the faces of her son and husband flashed behind her eyes. Mako could handle himself though. He was far more than resourceful. But her boy...

The thought permeated her mind and she bit down on her lip painfully.

_Nuka._

* * *

And finally something rumbles! I know this fic is kind of a slow pace, but I appreciate each and every one of you who take the time to read it and leave your word of what you think, what you like and what you think needs work. It means quite a lot to me!

I don't want to say much and reveal too much, but hopefully it's clear that we're going to see some clashing! The North Pole is going to be the host of some very important things happening!

As always, guys I love it when you drop those reviews! It really encourages to keep writing and to push through to get those chapters to you guys as fast and with as much quality as I can! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


	15. Nuka and Korra: The Wall

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

* * *

******Nuka and Korra: The Wall  
******

* * *

The first thing Nuka thought about was his family. Where were his parents in all of this? What about his grandparents? The dogs were with them too... were they okay?

It took all of his power to pull himself from inside his own head and onto the scene emerging before them as they reached the exit. The closer they got, the clearer the chaos became. Panicked civilians were running in the direction away from the wall and Nuka, detecting the faintest whiff of sulfur in the air. Automatically, he and Sila moved together, carefully yet quickly as they headed toward the high wall that were the gates of the city.

They maneuvered over bridges and around the expansive canal system that Nuka was actually glad he remembered somewhat from the other summer he spent here with Sila. It was a maze of ice sidewalks carved around canals and ice buildings and the the entire thing was just a headache if you didn't have any familiarity with the place.

"If we're being attacked and nobody knew, then right now they're probably evacuating the south end of the city where they're closest to the gates and the breached wall. That'll be where the most troops are. Then, they'll raise the inner wall," recited Sila. Nuka glanced at her, not daring to take his eyes off his surroundings for too long. She sounded like she was talking more to herself than to him.

Still, he asked, "What inner wall?"

"It's a new thing in the last few years. My mom's idea She was part in charge of it's construction," she said, quickly, drawing a short blade and coating it in ice. "It's part of why the chiefs trust her so much. History shows that most who attack us have to do so from the sea and siege the wall."

"Oh, I see. Evacuate the civilians on the south end near the sea and then raise the wall. Slows down any invading force from fully taking the city but turning the south end into a battlefield in which there are no civilians to get in the way and you all have the home field advantage. Smart. Your mom thought of all that too? The wall I mean."

"She thinks of a lot of things. Too many things. Got the idea from reading one of my dad's old books."

The bells were being rung now. Really late for that, wasn't it? The gong of the bells only added a chant that doom was reaching out for them all. Faster and farther they went, seeing less civilians and, finally, real enemies. These men and women weren't clad in black like on Air Temple Island, but in gold embroidered green uniforms, a seal that Nuka only vaguely remembered emblazoned on their sleeves.

They were soldiers. Not a rag tag group of rebels, Nuka realized. The way they moved, operated and ran in a mechanic kind of way. He'd seen it all his life with the men under his father's command at the police force. The way they were able to move as one body. Not quite like this, but a close resemblance. A fluid machine that had been honed to some capacity each.

A real army was attacking them.

Busy in his own mind, Nuka hadn't realized a large firebender with a shaved head had turned their way and let out a streak of flames that sped toward them from a harsh swing of his arms. Sila leaped out of the way as Nuka took a large sidestep, the single wave between them missing him by just a foot. So close he felt the warmth at his feet even through his boots. It was Sila who came back with slash against air, but Nuka saw the ice on her sword shoot out at the firebender, turning to liquid mid-flight. Sila slashed up an instant later and the firebender got a block of ice for an uppercut. Taking the back end of her assault, Nuka stepped forward and took control of the ice with his fists and punched, sending the ice back to jab him in the nose.

Sila didn't stop and, by now, Nuka took her cues. Each step she took toward their offender was matched with a slash of her sword before the firebender could so much as bring his hands up, drawing buckets of water from the canals to which Nuka turned to ice and sent icy blows to his face, neck and chest. When Sila finally got close enough, she rapidly twisted into a roundhouse, smashing her shield against the firebender's ribs and driving him into the canal where they left him. Nuka looked back, just for a moment, as they moved on.

"Don't look," she said. "If you look then you'll probably care."

"Sila, he'll drown_,_" he told her, forcing himself to turn away.

"He just tried to roast us and, of course, you care about him drowning." She sighed. "These canals aren't that deep you know. His biggest concern is probably hypothermia and we can't exactly go nursing him to health. I have a sword. If I wanted to kill him I would have drove it through his stomach."

They rounded the corner of what looked to be a library and Sila did a jerk, grabbing onto the wall when she nearly tripped on something. Looking down, Nuka's eyes widened at the sight of somebody slumped against the wall, blood smeared across their neck with burn marks where the wound was. It was a young man. Nuka swallowed hard. He remembered this man. He was the bookkeeper – Mr. Uruqi, he recalled - who showed him around the library during his last visit.

Nuka let out a breath, not realizing he'd even been holding it.

Sila stared at the body for a moment, not so much transfixed, but as if she were still registering the information. She probably knew him a lot better than Nuka did when she went borrowing books for her mother. She'd probably seen him at least once a week.

Nuka tugged on her elbow wordlessly. A silent poke that she probably shouldn't state at Mr. Uruqi too long.

"This is why I don't care if he drowns," she said flatly, steadying herself again. "If he dies then so be it. These people, whoever they are, they're here to kill us. Or at least they don't care if they do. Now, let's go."

Nuka didn't say anything, not knowing how he felt about the matter anymore, but only knowing he would probably be sick after this.

They moved on and Nuka didn't hold back on anymore enemies they met. Not waterbenders, not firebenders and not earthbenders or even the occasional nonbender. If anything, he was _more _aggressive with the non-benders. Who knew which one of these people were chi-blockers? He'd never met one in person, but he never wanted the chance to find out what they fought like given the stories his parents told. Almost like you'd been shot in the nerves, they told him. Your body just shut down and there wasn't anything you could do about it. He had no plan whatsoever to experience that. Not today.

Now, Sila. Sila waded through like a true soldier. She matched them. She fought them like she'd done so a hundred times. Without hesitation. Nuka had to admire her. No matter what, she was ready for anything. He could never understand why some people felt like being a woman disqualified someone from being a damn good fighter. Perhaps his experience was just different what with his mother and sister essentially being brawlers by nature.

Well, his mother was a brawler. Tikaani had always been more of a machine even he had to admit. After all these years, Nuka had hardly ever beaten her. That was the difference between them. He was a fighter. She'd always been more of a killer.

By the time the wall was in view, smoke was wafting strongly in the air and he could see the hole in the base, gaping and a crack reaching up to the top, threatening to collapse the wall with anymore force. There were no sentries on top of the unstable wall, but in the distance Nuka could see a blood splatter and a body from where someone had fallen off of it.

"Are you sure you want to just jump into the fight?" he asked Sila as they shielded themselves from any stray enemy fire around the wall of a large building. "We should be helping more people escape. The sooner they get that wall of yours up the better, right?"

"We're doing that," said Sila, on the ball of her toes and looking around the corner every so often. "The more of the enemy we fight then the more people can escape. We need to keep them from taking the field. If they overwhelm us then the city is theirs to rampage in"

Without waiting for his answer, she swung her arm in the open space, connecting her shield with the face of a green uniformed clad young man. She must have got him good because he dropped to the ground, blood leaking from his nose. Sila leaped over him and Nuka followed beside her.

Well, if she was going to throw herself into the fray then that was exactly what he was going to do too, no questions asked.

He only prayed that his family was just fine. Even if they were all basically top notch fighters and his grandparents were essentially guarded by four giant dogs plus their own skills... still, he couldn't help, but worry.

His thoughts were cut off when a block of ice flew over his head.

"Nuka, pay attention!" shouted Sila, slicing through the waterbender who'd sent it flying.

Later. He would definitely find them later, but right now he needed t cut through his mayhem.

* * *

**Korra **

* * *

They weren't at the facility.

Korra's heart skipped a beat when they realized that Osina's facility was empty.

"Sila!" called Osina, trotting through the halls, only answered by the echo of her own voice. "Sila! Honey, are you here? Answer me!"

Korra pulled Osina's arm back as she stopped in her own tracks.

"Osina, they're not here. We have to leave the building."

Osina's eyebrows furrowed and her mass of dark hair was messier than usual. "Then, where are they? You don't think they went out there, do you?"

She didn't answer. If Korra knew her son _at all_, then that was exactly where he probably had headed too. Especially if he saw other people in danger. The only thing that would have stopped him was the idea of Sila getting hurt and he highly doubted that was really something to worry about.

"I was hoping Nuka would be the voice of reason in this," groaned Osina. "She'd fight anybody."

"Yeah, welcome to the club," grumbled Korra as she pulled Osina back the way they came. "I was hoping your girl might be the voice of reason for _him_."

"I guess they dated for a reason."

"That they did, damn them," said Korra as the exit came back into view, tightening the grip on her gliding staff. "Stay close, got it? Unless you're secretly a waterbender."

Osina immediately shook her head, shrinking behind Korra as they waded along, following the noises and smell of battle coming from the south end of the city. Bodies littered the streets, civilians and men and women in strange green and gold uniforms. Korra tried not to focus too much on them. She wanted to get on her knees and help retrieve these bodies left in the cold, but their children were still lost in the chaos and a fight was still in full swing around them. Not only their children, but Mako and possibly her parents. She only prayed the Mako was with them.

"Nuka!"

Her head swiveled, halting at the sound of her son's name and her husband's voice.

"Mako!" she called back.

"Korra?" She heard the sound of footsteps quickly approach them as Mako came into view. He was panting, the cloth of his shoulder blackened slightly from being burnt and crushed her into a hug when he reached her. "Thank the spirits you're okay. Both of you... the kids aren't with you, are they?"

Her heart dropped. "No? They're not with you?"

Mako frowned worriedly and that was all the answer she needed.

"They probably went into the fight," she said, turning to continue south. "If we hurry-"

"No. Korra, I'll go find him. You need to get Osina somewhere safe and get to your cousins."

"_No? _Mako, that's our son! Our _only _son! He's all we have left-"

"And this is an invasion!" He held her by her elbows, gently yet firmly. "I _promise _you that I will find him. Korra, I _swear _to you, but your cousins... the Chiefs... you've done this before. You know what comes first."

Korra swallowed hard. He... Mako was right. She wanted to throw herself into the fight and find her one and only son, but... whatever this was, the world needed it's Avatar. People were laid dead on the streets and it infuriated her, scared her to death that their son and Osina's daughter might be two of the people sprawled out on it...

But she was the Avatar and she had a duty. They both knew that.

She let out a shuddering breath.

"Bring him back to us," she croaked, glancing at Osina. "Both of them... he's all you and I have left, Mako..."

Mako pulled her into a quick, but strong hug. For just a moment, he stroke her hair and whispered his love to her.

"I promise you," he said into her hair. "Our son is going to be okay. He's a strong boy. A young man now, really... he'll be alright. He'll come back to us."

He let go, their hands still hanging onto each others forearms as they pulled away. One last glance. One more promise.

She steeled herself, the look in his eyes determined as he did the same thing. Without another word, he slid his grip out of hers and turned toward the south end of the city, running into whatever chaos was down that way.

They would come back. Her boys would come back to her.

With a final silent prayer, she turned the other way. Avatar she may have been, but she was also human. Running into battle might have gotten her killed if she was so frantically looking for Nuka and Sila. All it would take was one misplaced blow while she was distracted and-

She shook her head. Her son would be okay. Mako would be okay. Her parents had probably evacuated with the rest of the civilians.

She needed to see where Eska and Desna were and make sure they were safe from whoever it was that was attacking them and also to get Osina somewhere safe. _Then, _she could get out there and throw her weight around.

"I know the way," said Osina, running alongside Korra now. "As soon as we get there and see if everybody's who's not a soldier has evacuated the south end then I'll show you what's going to happen next."

-:-:-:-

"A wall?"

Osina nodded enthusiastically.

They weren't inside a shelter. Instead, they were below the royal palace with the rest of the guard who'd stayed behind to keep the main entrance to the catacomb bunkers safe. After making sure that Eska, Desna and their children were in a secure location, Korra followed Osina to a small room in the labyrinth of hallways.

"It was a recent thing of mine that I suggested. It's a wall that essentially cuts off this part of the city," said Osina, looking through screens and screens of data that Korra couldn't even begin to understand and a myriad of papers pinned to the walls. What was this place? From the looks of it, she guessed that it was a control room from the people sitting inside of it and paying her not a lick of attention as they scrambled to and fro, the chatter and noise ordered panic in nature.

"...Osina...?"

"-and you see, when we raise the wall, it'll leave time for the chiefs to escape the city if need be and get the rest of the civilians safely bunkered down-"

"Osina, what exactly do you do?"

"Well, like I said, we raise the wall-"

"No, what exactly do you do for your country? Your government?" Korra finally asked. She asked it quietly enough so that the whole room wouldn't hear, but she had to know. What was it? Of course, Osina was a genius. Brilliant beyond measure and who knew what was cooking up in her mind. Naturally, Eska and Desna would find that valuable as heads of state. But then there were these important files filled with sensitive details about this damned conspiracy that apparently involved spirit vines and Tsai Labs – doubtful to the company's knowledge – and now she'd apparently commandeered the construction of a security wall in the middle of the city?

She could believe Osina was their top engineer. Head of all kinds of things to benefit the technological advancement of the Northern Water Tribe. Yes, she could believe all of that completely.

But what else?

"Korra, you know what I do." Osina cocked her head to the side. "I'm an engineer."

"I know that, but don't lie."

Osina blinked. "I'm not lying."

"No, but you're not telling the truth either. Tell me. You're so comfortable here and you're such an asset to the city. You have to be more than just a simple engineer."

More than just a minor insider on an human developmental company.

"It would seem so, wouldn't it?" Osina smiled weakly. That smile quickly faded. "To put it shortly so that there aren't too many questions? A makeshift... agent I guess. I really am an engineer. That's all I've been for most of my life. It's only been in the recent years that Chief Eska and Chief Desna have called upon my... services. And what those services can also be tweaked for."

Tweaked...?

_She's arriving from an abroad business trip..._

_I went to Republic City to work there for a little while, but I just... I've just found some disturbing things. _

"Your business trip... was it to _spy _on Tsai Labs? Really, actually _spy _on them? Eska and Desna said you were, yeah, but for something like this...? It wasn't some mishap, was it?" Korra said this time with more conviction. "You're their spy? Not just on the company, but for the _government _of the Northern Water Tribe."

"Not exactly. I'm an engineer for my people first and foremost. I design practical things for the needs of the tribe-"

"-And you use your line of work to gather intel on threats to the Northern Water Tribe. Tsai Labs has become that threat."

Eska and Desna had said that Osina was spying for them, but Korra... hadn't realized for something of this _scale_. From the way they'd made it sound, Osina was a minor piece that just so happened to report her findings to her chiefs on a foreign company who were meddling in their territory. An unwitting middleman. But not at all. In reality, she was a crucial piece of intel to something far more serious. Korra hadn't realized just how tightly wrapped up in all of this Osina actually was...

How this was really her _life _at stake.

Osina pursed her lips. "Everything you've thought has been correct up until now. I wasn't originally working for them like that. This is something I've only done in the past few years. Very recent. But what was also right is the fact that I _did _start this whole spirit vine issue."

Korra bit the inside of her cheek. "And because of that your the intelligence on the inside. The one that feeds them intel... and you have a debt."

So, it wasn't exactly all along, but she _had_ been recruited as one of the Northern Tribe's core spies after the deal with the vines. Eska and Desna had called upon her to put her very _life_ in danger. Maybe, just maybe, because they knew she probably wouldn't – couldn't – say no.

Korra would need to speak with her cousins when this was all over.

"It was my research that started this and I'm the only one that can fix it. But the more I look into it..." Osina's voice strained. "The more I find out and the crazier it gets. The scarier it becomes. The file. The file has a lot of things I can't even _begin _to explain to you what they may mean. The list of names, all the things I was able to get snapshots of with my camera when I wasn't supposed to be in those rooms. I had to crawl through the ducts because if they found me I think they would have killed me. Nasty things, Korra. You have no idea what kind of wrong things they may be doing. What I think they're doing..."

"Then, tell me," urged Korra, putting her hands on Osina's shoulders. "Tell me now. So that I can fix it. Because if it's your fault then it's more so mine. I'm the Avatar. This is my job and you're _not alone here, I promise-_"

"Okay, listen up everybody!" Korra swore a horrid string of curses in her head when a broad man with blue eyes and braids down his back stood in the middle of the room, hand raised for attention. "The last of the civilian evacuations have reached far enough north that we can get ready to raise the wall! Requests for air support have gone out, but we're going to have to bunker down for a little bit until they get here! Remember, just because that wall goes up doesn't mean we're in the clear! Our soldiers will still be fighting on the other side of it so stay alert! They need our constant vigilance! As do we need to remain so for our own safety! You know that there are still ways to bypass the wall through means of underground travel and I don't care if we're supposedly the only people who know about those catacombs. All it'll take is one or two people to get through and it could sink us all. _I want everything monitored. Stay. Alert._"

The room uttered affirmation before they all went back to business, the man who had called for attention striding over to an important looking station in the corner.

"That's General Hukopa," said Osina. "In charge of the military forces. If he's here then it means that his forces are probably already marching out to the south as we speak. Once they get there and all the civilians leave then they're going to dig their heels in. Fight in an all out battle to the death if they must. That's what the wall's for."

That would have sounded like a good plan if it weren't for one problem.

"And then Nuka, Sila and Mako will all be trapped." Korra said quietly as it slowly but surely dawned on her. "I doubt they know the way through the catacombs. I know Mako and Nuka don't but would Sila?"

But Osina's mouth fell open – in all the chaos, that consequence had escaped her – and Korra had a hunch the answer wouldn't be a good one.

"S-she does. I showed her years ago, but..." Osina swallowed hard. "She'd never think to do that."

"She wouldn't run away." Korra cursed again. "And neither would Nuka. Oh, for the love of-"

Okay, Osina was safe. Eska and Desna were safe. Things were being put into motion by the state. Now, Korra was not going to sit idle for another minute.

Glider staff in hand, she made way for the door. "I'm going to find them. Mako's out there, but he doesn't know about the wall and he'll get stuck there too. He can handle himself, but I'm not leaving him out there where he could die-"

"I'm going too." Osina followed and Korra immediately stopped.

"_No_," she shook her head. "Absolutely not. I brought you here to be _safe_. Not just so you can go and follow me-"

"I'm going to help."

"Osina-"

"_Korra, that is my daughter and I never asked to be safe,_" said Osina with such vicious conviction that Korra raised her eyebrows from where they had knitted together. "First of all, I know the way underground. If _you _get stuck then you'll have to fight your way out too. I know you're perfectly capable of that, but what if it's a trap? What if they're trying to lure you out? After everything you've told the chiefs about Air Temple Island and Zaofu – yes, I know. Of course they told me – doesn't that sound perfectly possible? Believe it or not, I can handle myself and I refuse to let somebody else go out there and risk their lives for her. She's my baby and I'm bringing her home."

Korra wanted to protest and she nearly did, but there was something about the look in Osina's eyes told her that it would just be wasted words. And, frankly, she knew what it was like to be in those shoes.

With no more intention to argue, she nodded. "Alright... alright. I can use your expertise. Those underground paths are probably like a maze."

"Thank you." Osina let out a breath.

As they left the room and strode down the hall, Korra glanced over only briefly.

"And... by the way. None of this is your fault... it was for the benefit of other people. It was out of kindness. You were only trying to help."

That made Osina flash a bittersweet smile, eyes bright.

"Oh, but don't these things always start out that way?"

* * *

**Nuka**

* * *

Nuka was about ready to cough his own lungs up if this kept up. They were _endless_. How big were those submarines anyway? Apparently big enough or they had a lot of them. Or maybe he was just seeing the same people again and again. He couldn't remember with the rush going through him like a race for the finish line.

He'd nearly gotten jabbed with the pointy end of an icicle and had promptly slammed his fist into his attacker's nose. Were the civilians evacuated yet? Whatever the case, he prayed that they hurried up the process.

He could see Sila, across the bridge from him. She had blood in her shirt from where a large woman had charged her – earthbender from her fighting stance – and thanks all the spirits, Sila had gotten her sword up just in time and had stabbed right through the woman. It was a mildly gruesome sight when Sila finally pushed her off, but he wasn't going to deny that it was a relief when it turned out not to be Sila's blood splattered all over herself.

When there was just a moment where they weren't accosted by enemies or flanked by friendly soldiers who'd _finally _gotten to this end of the city, Nuka panted and looked at Sila. "We have to get out of here."

"They need help," Sila said simply, sword still up as a platoon of men clad in various hues of blue stormed on by, fiercely engaged with a group of green clads.

"Sila, your _mom _is still out there and so is mine. I know you want to help and I do too, but what if _they're _in trouble?"

There was no question that he was just worried sick about his family. He didn't _know _if his parents, grandparents or dogs had been caught in some crossfire. Had they evacuated? Were they here fighting? He needed to know and being stuck here fighting a sea of endless green clad soldiers on the fly wasn't going to get either of them any answers. His instinct was to fight until his body gave out, but he _needed _to know if they were safe _first_. It was all too distracting to think about them possibly hurt in some rubble and he wasn't there to help.

"You are..." she sighed. "Right. We need to keep moving and not get too caught up in this. The civilians should all nearly be done evacuating by now. Thank everything they don't really know the lay of the land too well. It seems so at least. Otherwise, they'd have reached further into the city by now."

Nuka nodded, somewhat eager. "Let's go then."

But then the ground rumbled. Not the sudden shock at his feet like when the wall had a hole blown through it. This one was steady and strong. He turned to face the palace and shook his head when he saw an ice blue wall emerging from somewhere he couldn't quite see.

Shit. They were _stuck_.

"Damn it." He ran a hand through his hair. "Now there's no way to get back!"

"Of course there's a way. Always is. Just follow me."

Sila gestured for him to follow her. Without question, he fell in step beside her. "How?"

"Underground. There are ice catacombs beneath the city. Most people don't know about them, but my mom showed them to me ages ago and I've gone down there once or twice to be alone. We just have to not be seen."

"Downside?"

"Well, it's a secret and my mother always told me to keep it that way. We have to make sure nobody follows us. Aside from that, it's just cold and on the very edge of the city. Along the base of the cliffs and there's a bit of a trick to get into it. You have to be a waterbender to get in."

"Well, would you look at that?" He almost grinned. "Aren't we lucky?"

"Oh, you have jokes now?" She snorted. "Come on. We have to get there fast. And remember. _Try not to be seen_."

It took some time to navigate all the way to the western end of the city, keeping in mind to be as stealthy as possible. The cliffs were high and essentially walls of their own, having served as natural protection from invasion for centuries. As they got closer, he could see how one might have some weird entry way into an underground passage. All it took was a lot of carving, but it'd be perfect as long as you had bending to get into it.

"We're almost there. Stay close," said Sila as they passed into an open courtyard, the only building near them a high bureaucratic looking building, an opaque blue dome sitting on top. It would certainly explain the nice open space with a rather impressive looking fountain in the middle, benches with carved designs placed carefully. Even the ground had flower reminiscent designs etched into it.

"How far?" he asked.

"Not too far. Maybe a mile or two?"

"Good. As long as we don't run into anymore of those guys in green we should be-"

And with an impressive thud, somebody dropped right down from the sky.

What in the-

He felt the heat before he saw the flames disperse and nearly stumbled as he stumbled on the slick floor. Her boots were black, practical, perfect for traction in winter weather. Pants black and coat red, he felt his heart thunder in his chest.

_No_.

His eyes slid up to her neck where where locks of black hair fell below her chin on each side. Her hair was black as could be, strapped in a high ponytail where he bangs parted on her left and swept over the right side of her forehead.

Spirits, he still knew every detail of her. The recognition was instant.

And yet, it _couldn't_ be.

But her eyes. He fell on them last, but he knew them so well. Amber eyes, lit with a subzero kind of intensity that he only knew in one human being. Those amber eyes were framed by a serious mouth and dusty light brown skin.

Were his eyes playing tricks on him? They had to be messing with him. Maybe it was the sulfur, he swore it had to be.

But no.

There was no denying it to be her.

Nuka looked up at his sister, fists before him, but mouth agape. She stood on top of the bench, looking down at him with a barely detectableraise of her brows when her eyes found his.

Tikaani looked at her brother, face stone cold as it always been. Colder even. He could still hear the alto in her voice when she spoke, stunned as his thought process was at the moment.

She regarded him with but a word, a chill wind blowing through her hair.

"Nuka."

* * *

And finally, _finally_ Tikaani comes face to face with her brother. After a long and heartbreaking year since she left her brother and parents, Tikaani finally meets him again!

It was really nice this it actually ended up taking exactly fifteen chapters for Tikaani to meet up with some family. I won't say too much and be spoilery in any way. Now, this is just the beginning, but things start getting real from here on out.

As always, guys I love it when you leave thos reviews! They really keep me motivated and keep me writing so I can get the next chapter out faster! Every word really means a lot even if you're just pointing out something! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


	16. The Catacombs

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

* * *

******Nuka and Korra: The Catacombs  
******

* * *

Despite their flaring amber color, Tikaani's eyes were cold.

Nuka and his sister shared that same eye color, but Tikaani always had a certain look to them. So focused and intent. Calculating even. Still. Having grown up with her, their intensity had ceased to bother him ages long before he could even remember or perhaps they had never at all, but he could feel Sila beside him shielding up, surely looking up into those eyes that held no invitation.

He was breathless staring up at her.

She'd cut her hair the day she left, but apparently it'd grown back easily enough, her black ponytail long once again and swaying in a chilly breeze.

An entire year had gone by since he'd seen her. She hadn't even said goodbye…

No, she hadn't said goodbye before she broke their parent's heart and tore a hole in their family. She had run away without so much as a note before she quite nearly killed their mother from heartbreak. Some days, he still wondered whether his mother would drop dead from the grief of it all and the pressure of being the Avatar. Their father had gone greyer in the year as well, but he was always good at hiding personal hurt. Tikaani had just left, leaving nothing but her ponytail behind to surely signify her final farewell and that whatever future she envisioned from there on out would not have them in it. Of course, their parents had known that and it'd killed them as they searched high and low, but to no avail.

Did Tikaani even care?

Those eyes told him she did not.

A surging in his blood pounded at his temple and and he might have started shouting at her were he still not so stunned. His arms fell to his side, limp and his mouth had fallen open. He took a single step toward her and breathed, "Tikaani?"

"Nuka, don't."

He could hear Sila's take a step forward when he did, the ice crunching under her boot. But he ignored her. He could only see his sister. His sister that just stood there in all her grand entrance. She'd just fallen from the damned sky-

No, not the sky. She'd probably been perched on that bureaucratic building for spirit's only knew how long like a little spy and propelled herself through the air with fire when she caught sight of him. A trick their father had taught her and something that she'd picked up fast.

Of course, she'd always picked things up fairly easily-

"Nuka, would you please just back up?"

He still did not look at Sila.

Tikaani stepped off the bench and he was reminded that she was the shortest in their family. She was shorter than their mother even by a couple inches. They were on the same level now, but her focus remained the same and her eyes had barely flickered away from his.

"Nuka."

"What?"

He finally turned around, immediately regretting the snap at Sila. Both because he rarely talked like that to her-

"Nuka!" Sila lunged forward.

\- and because the second he did, he felt a sharp, white hot pain ripping into the soft space under his right shoulder. He looked too late, but Tikaani was staring right at him when she buried that knife into him. He hadn't even seen her grasping it, but Sila had and she kept calling him back.

What the-

His sister just stabbed him. An entire year of not seeing her and the first thing she did was bury a damned knife into him?

Sila was quick to reach him, but Tikaani was quicker. She pushed Nuka away and punched the air, flame rushing from her fist and toward Sila. Knife still in him, he recoiled, almost collapsing to the ground from the pain, but his eyes went wide when Tikaani shot that stream of fire.

"Tikaani, stop!" He swung his good arm back, pain doubling in his other shoulder from the flex of muscle, and threw up a weak wall of water to cut off the stream. Thank all the spirits, Sila had already beat him to it, using the water he threw up and created a wall of ice to hide behind.

Still, he had seen the burn marks on her shield.

Holding the knife in him, he stood in front of the ice wall and faced his sister, gritting his teeth from all the pain. Not just the one in his shoulder either. He growled, "What the hell are you doing, Tikaani? Not a fucking word and the first thing you do is try to kill me?"

But Nuka wasn't getting his answer. His snarl fell when two more figures melted from the shadows, slinking to her rear support. His eyes widened at them the sight of them. He'd never seen people who looked like them…

One of them, the girl, was pale as the snow, but, spirits, her skin… her skin was etched with cracks. Black cracks that riddled her all over like they were tracing her veins under flesh. He wouldn't have been able to stop staring at her if the boy next to her, a couple years older it seemed, wasn't grinning like mad. He was even paler than the girl, paler skin, paler hair. His eyes were a striking blue that didn't remind him of any Water Tribesman he'd ever met.

"Doesn't take a genius to know who you are," the girl purred.

"Enough, Gurana." Tikaani didn't look at Gurana, her eyes instead still fixated on Nuka. Nuka committed the name to memory even as he stared right back at his sister.

"I'm impressed though," said Gurana, shrugging. "Your own brother. Even Namada and I couldn't have done that to each other."

The boy apparently named Namada snorted, speaking in a sing-song tone. "She's right, you know. And that's saying something."

Tikaani seemed to ignore them, but her eyes flicked toward the ice wall behind him. He made to move, but his muscle in his shoulder protested and he nearly fell to his knees. Spirits, she'd jabbed that in there real good. It was even worse than the wound he'd received in Zaofu.

"Let's go." She turned her back on Nuka and began to walk away. He made to lurch after her, but actually fell to one knee as the sudden movement nearly blinded him with pain. No. No, not again. He'd just seen her. She couldn't go again…

Namada and Gurana didn't move, but frowned at Nuka. "We're not going to finish them off?"

"They've shown us the way. Let's go," repeated Tikaani and she propelled herself back into the air, flames guiding her toward a nearby rooftop to where she disappeared all too quickly. Namada left after her, but Gurana took a second long meaningful glance at Nuka before she finally slipped away, guided to the rooftop by an impressive beam of ice the boy bended up into the air.

And just like that they were gone.

Neither Sila nor Nuka went after them even if Nuka wanted nothing more than to run right after Tikaani. But the pain in his shoulder was driving all of his senses to the edge. The shock, if anything else, was quite the toll on him, his vision was blurring around the edges and he tried to force himself back onto his feet with little success. Sila was immediately by his side, hoisting him up under his current good arm.

"I can't- we need to get you to a healer. Right now. She's lodged that in there good- I just can't believe-" But Sila went silent and he couldn't blame her. What kind of encounter was that? After a whole year of not seeing her, his sister had literally stabbed him, then walked away. Like nothing. Like he was nothing and everything that had happened up until now was nothing. He was an afterthought. She hadn't even look surprised in the least seeing him. In fact, she looked like she'd been expecting him the entire time.

"We can't go toward the catacombs now." Sila shook her head. "That has to be where they're going. You heard them, saying we showed them the way. I… we're not risking it."

"We have no other way out."

"We'll find one."

"There is no other way. We'll probably get ourselves killed by one of those soldiers if we try. Isn't there another way? A different way down to the catacombs?"

Hesitantly, Sila nodded. "The sewers. If you take the right paths you'll get to the catacombs. Everything down there is basically connected if not blocked off at certain ends. The only other entrance is at the other side of the city, but…"

Nuka looked at his shoulder for her bleeding sluggshly. He'd never make it. Not without them running into one of those soldiers ready to put them on a stick like a couple of kabobs. His jaw tightened. She didn't have to mention her underlying fear. If they ran into Tikaani and her new friends he wasn't sure what'd that spell for them, but, oh, did he hope to see her again.

He needed to.

"Sewers it is."

Mako had, tragically, seen enough bodies in his lifetime to know who on the ground was laying passed out and who was dead. Every one he saw made his heart stop so that it was actually a wonder that he was still alive himself. Twinges of sorrow were drowned out by an incomparable fear that he'd trip over the body of Sila or his own son.

Nuka was a good fighter, yes, but after a few rounds with some of these soldiers he could clearly see that they had military training. Enough to keep Mako on his toes at least. It was disconcerting to say the least. Not that his son was a pushover, but Nuka had always concentrated his efforts on probending and that was where his strengths were. Thankfully, his size and strength were two advantages he might have on somebody. His speed wasn't half bad either. The boy was big for his age, having nearly gained on Mako himself in height. With Sila around, too, they'd stand a chance. Mako had to have hope at least.

He just hoped that would make a difference in a fight if the two got themselves into a pinch.

As for himself, he'd already had to face a couple green clad soldiers, easily disarming and knocking them out. In his forties Mako had to pride himself on him and his wife's ability to still move around like they did. It didn't quite make him feel young, but after so long in service he supposed it was a blessing in and of itself. Some days he woke up and his back was the bane of his existence. Other days, like today, were great timing for his body not to be a pain in his butt.

But no matter what - no matter what - he was going to find those kids.

It took some coaxing, but Sila finally managed to get him to sit down just for a moment so they could patch up his wound as best they could. It hurt like nothing else to pull it out. He'd been stabbed only once before, but that one time the assailant had actually pulled the knife out in hopes of getting him again. This one hurt more if only because of who it came from and he meant that from both a sentimental and literal standpoint.

On one hand, his own sister has literally stabbed him. That, he still couldn't believe.

On the other hand, he wasn't surprised she knew where to to make it hurt.

"We can't exactly use the water in the sewers to clean this," Sila said as Nuka was busy healing himself with fresh water she'd brought in her skin hanging at her waist. "Even I know that much."

Nuka grinned. "You know, you never did tell me why you never learned how to heal. Any fighter should know how to heal themselves."

Sila shrugged. "I never had a knack for it. Not like you do at least. I mean, if I really focus and have time I can do something, I suppose, but I never exactly sit down to find out. Perhaps I should."

Nuka would have shrugged if it didn't seem like a bad idea. "It helps. Especially if you ever end up in a situation like this all by yourself…" He looked up from working on his shoulder. "So, when we get to the sewers, where to?"

"There's a few passages to get through, but it leads through the catacombs and from there we should end up on the other side of the wall just fine. It'll take a minute, but we'll get there… are you sure you're okay leaving the battlefield? You've always liked to fight."

"I guess. When I don't really have to worry that is," he said. "I mean, I've never been in a real fight. Well, battle. Not like this. Nothing like this. Air Temple Island was the closest thing and I wasn't about to leave basically my whole family out there."

Sila raised a brow. "And you worry about me?"

"You're a soldier. I kind of have to."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, arching a half-amused brow.

"You fight, but don't know how to heal yourself. I bet if you were to sit down and try to heal somebody in need, you'd be able to muster something decent up just from pure will." He smiled at her. "When it comes to yourself? You won't spare a thought on the idea. You don't like to fight, yet you'd do it in a heartbeat. But you're not stupid. You'll back down when it's wise. Believe me, I know you too."

It's why he always noted her sword and shield were great a great weapon choice for her. The sword was well in line with her willingness to fight and the shield with her smarts. She knew when to attack and when to defend.

Seemingly evaluating that, she nodded after a moment. Sila never thought about herself in perfect honesty. Not unless she was with someone else.

"We should go," he said, done healing himself the best he could. He looked at it one last time before pulling his coat over his head. "I don't have anything to wrap this up with."

"So, you're just going to let it bleed?" Sila asked, frowning deeply now.

"It's not really bleeding anymore. Well, not like before. It's delicate. I just need to patch it up better when I get the chance. You know, so it doesn't get infected." he said, then told her more gently. "I'll be fine."

Sila shook her head and walked ahead of him.

"You're mom is going to strangle you."

"You're right. She is going to strangle him."

Nuka twisted on his heel far faster than his shoulder liked, grunting at the pain. But he grinned and he grinned wide, letting out a sigh of relief seeing his father walking toward them from where they'd entered the sewers at.

"Spirits high and low." Nuka could have cried right there. His dad was okay. Not dead or hurt or anything. "Dad. I've never been so happy to see you."

"I don't know how I should feel about that," his father laughed a little and threw his arms around Nuka as he walked up on them. "Are you okay?"

Nuka audibly squeaked at how hard his father was holding him, his shoulder screaming for less pressure to be applied please.

"Mr. Mako…" He could hear Sila weakly attempting to enlighten him on the situation.

"Actually, no, I'm not okay," said Nuka in a strained voice. Spirits, that really hurt. "You're, kind of, sort of, really hurting me."

"What?" His father released him, putting his arm on his shoulders and looking at him. "What's wrong? Where're you hurt? Did you heal it?"

"Well." Nuka squeaked again, his voice nearly failing him from the distracting pain. Shooting thunderbolts of nerves were making their way through his body from every second of pressure. He gripped his father's wrists tight and slowly peeled them off of him. "You're kind- yeah, you're- I got stabbed in that shoulder."

"You were what?"

* * *

**Korra**

* * *

"How do you know your way around these parts anyway?"

The walls of the catacombs were mostly covered in ice, the glassy, translucent quality reminding her of embedded crystals and Korra somewhat wondering if there were actual crystals down here between the ice. It wasn't quite so scary with all the reflecting light that reminded her of the catacombs of old Ba Sing Se just a little. The first time Korra had visited Ba Sing Se's capitol, she'd been astounded by how large and mesmerizing they were. These catacombs were no different. It was as if the walls were creating their own light, taking in energy from a source she couldn't see.

"Oh, when Baoki and I were still dating he took me down here," Osina smiled fondly at the memory. "To impress me, you know. Well, I was colored impressed and we came down here more often than not, just exploring and discovering what else was down here. We even were able to map out a good portion of it, but it probably expands past even the city. Who knows? It might even go deeper underground."

"And you can get us past the wall?"

"Oh, of course," said Osina, grinning. "I might come down here every now and again just to have some time to myself or even just to think. I've taken Sila down here enough times she should know the way around the same way I do. To be honest, I'm hoping she decided to come down here."

"You think?"

"I can only hope."

"She's a smart girl. I think she'd at least consider the idea."

The catacombs were narrow in some places and wide and high in other places. Like a funhouse at the carnival almost. She reckoned that without Osina she might even get lost. They walked through for a while in silence, her mind narrowed in on finding her son. She hoped, really hoped that maybe Nuka was down here. That maybe he and Sila would find their way down into the catacombs where Korra could make sure her son was safe and unharmed. It was one of the things she really needed right now.

"Do you miss your daughter?"

Korra almost stopped dead in her tracks.

"...what?"

Osina turned, almost stumbling with a bashful look on her face. "I'm so sorry! I-I didn't mean it the way it came out I just meant-"

Korra's tried to smile. "No, it's okay. I think I know what you meant."

"I just meant…" Osina looked ahead again. "I miss Baoki all the time. I mean, he's… he's really gone, but I miss him every day. I talk about him all the time though. I just meant, like, do you try not to think about her all the time? I know that I did for a long time, but I just couldn't… I guess, I'm not sure what I'm trying to ask… I don't know, is it possible not to think about someone you miss like that?"

Korra sighed. She understood what Osina was saying even if the words weren't coming. "I… I miss Tikaani every day. Every day and then some. I don't think I could put her out of my mind even if I wanted to. Not the way you mean at least. I do think it's impossible. I miss my girl too much and I'm not sure I'll ever forgive myself for it all."

"...if I may... what happened?"

"Long story short?" Korra smiled bitterly as they entered small tunnel.. "Me, her and her brother got into a fight. Or well, she and her brother got into a fight. I stopped it. It was kind of the last straw, I guess. She left a few days later while we were all out of the house that morning. I was out visiting with Tenzin, her father was at work and her brother was at the gym. I came home first and when I did, her stuff was gone and she'd chopped off part of her ponytail. Left it on her bed all wrapped up. I knew then that something was wrong… it was like she was saying goodbye and I..."

Korra's voice cracked. Tears pricked her eyes even as she tried to will them away.

"I-I-I'm sorry!" Osina stammered, putting an arm on Korra's shoulder. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have asked! You don't have to talk about it. I understand-"

"It's fine," said Korra after taking a shaky breath. "It really does hurt to talk about it, but I know that I have to sometimes. I feel like… when I don't ask about her or talk about her then I'm trying to forget her. And I don't ever want to do that. Even if she never comes back, she's still my baby. What happened was my own fault. Not hers."

Osina frowned, her brows upturning. "Take it from someone who's been there pretty badly. I know that in a way there's really no closure for that. I get it and I know saying anything else really would just be me sugarcoating it. You're going to get through this. In some way, it'll be okay. Maybe it won't be perfect, but it'll be livable. I promise."

Korra looked at Osina with a soft smile. "...thanks. I… I really do appreciate that. I think, right now, maybe that's all I need. For it to be bearable."

"When Baoki died that was the first step. Just for it to be bearable. I can't speak for everybody, obviously, but I find that these kind of things happen in stages. Baby steps."

"I think I can do that..." Korra nodded. "Baby steps."

They stayed in relative comfortable silence as Osina led them further down the tunnel. It was then, however, that something behind them crunched on the ground. Suddenly and fully alert now, Korra whirled at the sound of a footfall she didn't recognize as herself or Osina's behind them.

She pointed her staff toward the source of the noise, waiting for some assailant to come around the curve of the tunnel. Gritting her teeth, she barked, "Who's there? Show yourself!"

"Mom?"

* * *

Whoo boy! That was eventful!

Nuka and Tikaani's long coming meeting is short, but brutal. And, really, who knows what's going on in Tikaani's head? Nuka sure doesn't. He's too stunned to do any processing and, now, too preoccupied to really question it much. Not that he has many clues or answers. His own sister just took and knife and stabbed it. Whatever the reason, that can't be good. Frankly, it's also probably more complicated than it seems.

As always, guys I really love it when you leave those reviews! They really keep me going and keep me writing so that I can get the next chapter out faster! I really appreciate every word, even if it's just you pointing out something! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


	17. Korra and Nuka: The Crumbling Earth

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

* * *

**Korra and Nuka: The Crumbling Earth  
**

* * *

Korra nearly dropped her staff, her heart skipping a beat from pure relief. She recognized Sila's mass of hair and the two tall figures following up behind her. They may have still been in danger with all the chaos surrounding them, but she could breathe easier with Mako and Nuka right there in her reach.

"I..." she breathed, all too aware of the grin curving her mouth. "Thank goodness, I was so worried about you-"

"I know you were," said Nuka, hugging her with one arm. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to."

Korra shook her head. "It's not your fault, sweetheart. I'm just glad you're okay-"

"About that-"

"Sila!" Osina threw herself at her daughter, Sila catching her with some effort and sincerely hugging her tight. "Honey, I was going crazy! Are you okay? Tell me you're not hurt!"

Sila actually smiled, propping her chin up on her mother's shoulder. "I'm fine, mom. Completely unhurt. My shield got more damage than I did."

"I know that was supposed to make me feel better and even though it doesn't," she said, kissing her daughter's cheek and stroking her hair. "I'm going to take it."

Korra felt a relief that could and did shake her right to her chest. She hadn't realized just how agonizingly tight fear had been gripping her until it's grasp on her dissipated. Spirits, all she wanted was to stay here and hold her family and never let them go. If only Tikaani were here and with them, then maybe she would feel one hundred percent whole again.

"I knew that you'd find him," Korra said to Mako, hugging him next, but when she pulled back her face fell at the grim look on his face. "...what's wrong? Are you okay?"

She saw his throat bob as he swallowed hard and rested his hands on her elbows. He looked at Nuka, then back at her. Frowning, she then looked at her son, a look she knew to be one that demanded answers from him this minute. Whatever it was they had to tell her was clearly something she needed to know.

"See, I got into a bit of a scuffle," began Nuka.

"I already don't like the way this sounds," groaned Korra, rubbing her forehead. "Honey, don't do this to my nerves. Please, just tell me."

"Okay, um, don't freak out like Dad did." He removed his hand from where he'd been holding his shoulder. Why hadn't she noticed that before? When he did, she saw a large dark stain. Even now she could see the deep red color.

She might have stopped breathing just then.

"Yeah, so, uh… I got stabbed… again. It's okay now! I promise! I healed it as best I could-"

"As best you _could?_" Korra's mouth fell open, but she didn't hesitate as she bended a fair amount of water to wrap it around his wound. Even if he healed it up perfectly, she was going to do it again, damn it, just to make sure. "_How did it happen?_"

"I told you," he said, looking away. "I got into a scuffle with one of the soldiers… and well, this happened."

Korra immediately shared looks with Mako. He cut his eyes to her in a way that told her they were both thinking the same thing: their son was lying. Of course, he'd never been the greatest liar in the world. Not to his parents, at least. The boy was always a bit too awkward to be a good liar. His best lies where the ones by omission.

When Korra looked at Sila, the girl was looking at Nuka and particularly his wound. She wouldn't say anything though, Korra new. Sila would keep quiet so long as Nuka asked her too, be it literally or silently. Those two were a team and she wouldn't get it out either of them when they were together.

Korra made a note later to talk to Sila alone. Something in her instincts kept jumping out at her and she made it a habit to follow her gut even after all these years.

"Well," Korra went on, "We're all together now and for that I'm grateful, but now all of you need to get somewhere safe so I can go back out there and help."

Mako opened his mouth to say something, but she shook her head.

"Please," she said softly. "I need you with them. I'll feel a lot better if I know you're with them."

She knew he didn't want to leave her, but he stared at her for a moment and let out a breath. He nodded. A very reluctant resignation.

"Thank you," she said, pulling him into a hug. He wrapped her arms around her tightly and she lowered her voice just between them too. "I love you."

Because, at the end of the day, she didn't know if today would hold her last moment. Any of theirs. She prayed that if it was anyone's, then let it be hers and not her son's.

She turned and pulled Nuka into a hug, his face in a somewhat confused stupor. But the realization dawned on him and he shook his head.

"Mom, I'm not letting you go up there alone," he told her, frowning defiantly. "Not a chance."

"Yes, you are," she said firmly, but not unkindly. Gently even. "Because I'm your mom and if you want to help me then I need to know that you're not in danger. Nuka, _please_. We don't have time for this and just… Sweetheart, please."

Nuka opened his mouth several times, but no sound came out. Finally, he threw himself forward and embraced her.

"Don't… don't-" She could hear the thickness in his voice. "I'm not ready to lose you."

"I know," she whispered. "I know that. But don't you worry about me now. I'm the Avatar remember? I've had tougher fights than this."

It was true and it wasn't like this was the first battle she'd fought. But the way Nuka held her… it almost felt like he was a little boy again, pulling at her not to leave him again for the third time in three months. Her eyes stung at the memory and at the moment they were in right now. This wasn't fair. The world never was. Especially as the Avatar.

She'd accepted that.

But she just wished it could be a little fairer for her children.

Just a little bit.

She looked over his shoulder, at a teary-eyed Osina, Sila standing beside her. She gave her a water smile. "Stay safe, Korra."

Nodding, Korra swallowed. She had to. Whatever was going on, the world couldn't wait for another avatar to grow up.

"You too."

* * *

**Nuka**

* * *

They separated from his mother and the weight inside Nuka's chest felt heavier and heavier. Doubtless, he worried about his parents a little too much at times and they him, but this was _real_. A _real _fight where his mother might get overwhelmed and she could-

He shook his head. Banished the thought.

She'd been through so many of these in her life. She could handle this.

His father put an arm around his shoulders, holding him close. Nuka let him and gave him a look. How on earth had his father dealt with this time and time again? And when he and Tikaani were kids-

Tikaani.

Panic rushed through him and he nearly turned around. Tikaani. His mother didn't know about TIkaani. What if they met? What if-

Would Tikaani actually _kill _their mother?

He had no doubt in his mother's skills, but he did doubt that she would fight Tikaani should it come to that. There was no way that she was going to unleash any real power on her youngest child and only daughter.

When he turned back, though, it was Sila and her mother who met him, Osina putting her hand on his shoulder.

"She's going to be _okay_, Nuka." She smiled. "I promise. It's you we have to worry about really. That wound you received looks a bit deep."

He resisted the urge to cut his eyes to Sila. "Er, yeah…" He was reminded of the ache in his shoulder. "It felt deep."

"By the way," she said, hooking her arm in Sila's. Sila smiled and the weight lifted just a little. "I wanted to thank you. For keeping my baby safe."

Sila chuckled and Nuka actually grinned a little bit. "She actually was the one keeping me safe," he said. "I'm pretty sure I would have had more than a little old stab wound if it weren't for her."

In fact, if he'd listened to her he would have avoided the wound all together.

His mind shifted back to Tikaani, the way she looked at him so coldly. She wasn't very happy to see him, but she wasn't surprised either apparently. What was she doing there? The idea of her actually _working _for these people made him sick. And those… companions of hers. Were they her friends? It didn't seem so. Not the way she ordered them and they listened.

But if his mother found out before he could figure it all out…

Spirits, it would break her heart and that was something he definitely _didn't _want. He wasn't sure his mother could handle anymore heartbreak like that.

"Nuka."

He looked at Sila, her blue eyes solemn. "It's going to be alright."

She always knew.

"Hey," his father nudged him. "I've known your mother forever, it seems. And let me tell you. Your mom can handle herself. Always has been able to and always will. It's half the reason I fell in love with her and why you're even here-"

"Dad, is this even the time for that? Not that I ever want to hear about that."

His father rolled his eyes. "Just listen, would you? Your mom has defeated evil dictators, radical anarchists, revolutionary leaders, wannabe war leaders and kings. Even _the _spirit of darkness itself. Just because she's twenty years older doesn't mean she's down for the count. Your mom will be fine. As long as she knows you're safe, then she is _fine_. And you just have to believe that, okay?"

Nuka looked at his father, the conviction in his eyes, and sighed. He was right, after all.

"I know…" He groaned. "I just... "

"I know," his father said sagely. "I _know_, son. Trust me. But every time I worry, she proves me wrong. Doesn't mean I stop worrying, of course."

He supposed worrying was a lifelong problem for his father. His entire family, really. There was a lot of care that was shown in the wake of it, but… it often a double-edged sword.

After a while, Osina eventually made her way to the front of their little group, leading the way through the tunnels, scanning walls as if she were trying to decipher and conjure all the maps in her head, backtracking every so often to make sure she had gone the right track. Osina's mind must have been a constantly moving place, always coming up with the newest thing to think of, incredibly distracted yet incredibly gifted.

As if she could said his mind, Sila said, "She has a photographic memory, actually." She nudged lightly him with an elbow. "That's what they call it nowadays. It means she can pretty much remember anything she's seen only once. The only thing is that she's also a huge scatterbrain, so it takes her a minute to separate all the images in her mind. You can be talking to her and if she's thinking about something it's like she can't hear you."

Nuka chuckled. "Yeah?"

"Yeah." She smiled. "I'm the only one she tends to come out of her head for, really."

"Of course you are," he said fondly. "I think that everything she does is more or less for you. In her own way. You inspire her a lot."

Sila raised her brows. "You think so, huh?"

"I know so. It's the way she always talks about you. Always mentions you. I mean, she needs you." He shrugged, nudging her back affectionately. "That's to say, you're everything to her."

He could see the color flushing at her cheeks and she shook her head, looking away even.

"You don't believe me?" He grinned.

"No, I mean, _yes_. I know that. I guess…" Sila sighed. "I just want her to be happy. No matter what. Create all the things she could possibly want for all the days of her life. I'll be okay. I just want her to have everything."

He could see a wistfulness in Sila's eyes, the way she watched her mother's back. The memories of struggles behind her eyes that he dared not ask about. There were some things - many things - that should have just been left between a mother and daughter who'd lost a husband and a father.

"She will be. After all of this. You'll see. You and her are going to be happy and-"

The cave rumbled. Nuka grabbed Sila for a moment, just in case they were nearly knocked to the ground like earlier.

Another boom. There it was again, but it wasn't from the ground. What else could be under here anyway? No, it's was from-

"Osina, move!"

Nuka moved as the words flew from his mouth. The earth above them rumbled and Nuka surged forward, boots hitting the ground hard enough that he was definitely going to feel it later and dived, grabbing Osina as they fell and rolling to safety as tunnel collapsed right where she had been, dust and snow rising up from where the rock had fallen.

When the deep, hard rumbling stopped, Nuka tentatively raised his head. He didn't feel anything weighing him down and rose, taking Osina's hand as he did.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

But she didn't answer, ignoring the red growing from underneath her clothes, staring horrified at the pile of rock that now stood between her and Sila and Mako. Nuka's stomach churned. Oh no. No, no, no. They couldn't be _under _it-

"Nuka!"

Nuka's father's voice was like music to his ears. If he was alive then Sila had to be as well. Thank the _spirits_-

"Dad," Nuka faced the wall between them now, talking to his father through the earth. "Are you okay?"

"_Sila, honey, please say something! Are you okay?"_ Osina called desperately.

"I'm fine, Mom! I'm fine! Are _you _okay?" called Sila. "Are you hurt?"

Osina visibly loosed a breath. "I'm fine." she said, then winced. A lie. Her leg had taken a hard hit to the rocks and it was bleeding sluggishly. Nuka would have to heal that right away. "No, I'm fine. Just a little dirty now, but Nuka had me good. You're _sure _you're not hurt?"

"She's not, Osina," said Nuka's father. "She's fine. Grabbed us both and high tailed us out of there is what she did."

It was Nuka who asked the obvious. "...the wall," he said. With his mother gone, there were no earthbenders to move the rocks between them. Not that it was even a safe option anyway lest the whole tunnel come down. "What now?"

"I know the way," Osina said immediately. "I know the way around from here, but Sila, Mako, you two are on the right side of the wall. Nuka and I, however, are going to have to take a different route."

"How do you get there?" asked his father.

"Sila knows the way. She can take you… and I will lead Nuka there. We're going to take a little longer, but we'll be behind you shortly."

"Mom…" Nuka could hear the wavering in Sila's voice. "Are you sure about this? Can't we go up and get Nuka's mom, maybe?"

Despite the wall between them, Osina shook her head. "Korra's probably already in the middle of things up there. That rumble wasn't just some earthquake. That's air support, but… I'm not sure it's ours."

Osina bit her lip.

If it wasn't theirs then…

"They're dropping bombs on us," said Nuka's father. "We need to get out of here. _Now_. Nuka, you go with Osina and do as she says, alright? Sila and I will get to shelter."

"Stay safe." He wasn't going to argue. Not now. Not when they suddenly might have had a little bit of a time limit, the earth above them still rumbling distantly. "Okay?"

"That's my line," said his father, a small traceable break audible. "I love you."

"Yeah… love you too, Dad."

Osina put her hand up to the rock, as if she could see where her daughter's was looking back at her. "Sila, you do the same, okay? I love you, honey."

"I love you too, Mom. I'll see you on the other side."

* * *

**Korra**

* * *

Korra dug her heels into the earth, sending a blast of air at two soldiers aiming right for her with whatever element they possessed. She didn't know. Didn't give herself a chance to find out.

She'd been at this for a long time. Too long, if you asked most of her family Even in her own humble opinion had she been dealing with this particular situation for far too long. The world was far from at peace and she wasn't even sure if it could be called balanced. Not with the Earth States in the condition that it was, collapsing and relapsing into periods of war all throughout the vast land.

It had once been at peace, but then, there had been tyranny and poverty. Twenty years later, it was _still _under tyranny and poverty. What had changed?

Well, chaos was rather rampant right now with facades of order and prosperity in certain parts when the truth was that the states and their respective heads are more or less vying for power over one another. It wasn't unlike the time after Earth Queen Hou Ting had been assassinated by Zaheer and before Kuvira entered the picture.

It could even be compared to the age thousands of years ago before the nation had even been united. Like a modern feudal age. Many vying to be king of the hill.

And Korra had always, at least partially, taken that under her belt. If not for the queen dying, then for the failure to solidify peace _after _her death. Even Wu, optimistic as it was, had been forced to eventually fall to the wayside of politics, the toll of having abdicated the throne and left it to _this _hitting his mental health in enough waves that a long rest was in order. Wu was so young, but even he knew he should have made the decision to be king. Be king and reformed his government.

A decision he could no longer take back. It wasn't like abdication was a choice that could be just reversed on a whim when things weren't working out.

She couldn't blame him for choosing to abdicate instead. It had been a great idea. In theory. Neither of them had exactly expected it to lead to full scale wars reaching from shore to shore.

Now, here she was, raising a wall between her and a blast that would have killed her had she not separated herself with a wall of ice and earth over ten feet thick.

Were they killing _their own soldiers?_

Yes, she realized. As another group approached her. Because she was the target at all costs. That's what all of this had been about, hadn't it? At least in some part. Luring her out. Air Temple Island, Zaofu and now here? There were other goals, of course, but she'd been Avatar long enough that there was always one thing on the agenda: kill the Avatar.

Kill the Avatar so that all future plans are made that much simpler.

That all being said, Korra never made quite that simple.

A war blimp hovered over them, small and fast, well guarded by the guns on the ship and those flying around it. Korra could hear the voice crackling from its position through a radio.

There came a voice, deep and plain and eerie and slow.

"Hello, Korra."

Korra froze. Froze as all things came together in a flash. A pure _instant_.

Then, she nearly slapped herself. How had she _not seen it?_

Had the years blinded her so much?

Of course it…

Of _course_.

Hanyo.

* * *

**Nuka**

* * *

The rumbling up above them made Nuka nervous. Nervous less for himself and more of Osina beside him. For his father and for Sila growing farther and farther out of their reach. He thought of his dogs, his grandparents. So much to think about. So many people to make sure were okay. So much that could go _wrong_.

"I know you're worried," said Osina, patting him on the arm even as she limped a little. They'd taken a few minutes for Nuka to heal her leg. The pain started at her knee and his healing had only alleviated it to a point. At least, the bleeding from where rock had cut into had stopped though they would have to get her to a real healer later on. "But it's all going to work out, okay? You have to keep your head here though."

Nuka raised his chin, taking a deep breath. "You're right. I know, I just…"

"I know. I know it's hard. It is for all of us. But I _promise _that it's going to all be okay. Your mom's on the job. I have no doubt in my heart that with her guidance this is all going to end up just fine."

Osina smiled. Optimism in the face of danger. He supposed that Sila had gotten some of that only it manifested as a certain practicality and steady understanding seen in few. Steadfast.

Steady all the same.

"Let me tell you something," she began. "I thought I was just going to… I don't know. After my husband died, the world was at a loss to me. What was I supposed to do? Baoki, my husband, was my very best friend in the whole world. Only person who seemed to understand me on a day to day basis. I was so lost without him. But I had Sila. And no matter what happened, she was what I needed, okay? You need to be like that too. No matter what happens, the world keeps spinning. If you keep that in mind, you're going to find your way and be able to focus. Your parents need you here and not end up crushed by rock because one of us isn't focused."

Focus.

She was right, of course, he needed to _focus_. If something happened and he was so wrapped up in his own head with worry then it would only lead to tragedy. He needed to keep his head on straight.

Nuka smiled. "Thank you," he said.

"I worry about Sila constantly," she said brightly. "It's certainly okay. You get used to it as a parent, you know."

"I-"

Suddenly, Osina put a hand to his chest, stopping him. She put a finger to her lips to hush him, but he didn't say a word. Silence. Or rather, where there was supposed to be.

Voices. Voices that did not belong to Sila or his father. Voices that sounded agitated and demanding.

He glanced at Osina as she visibly paled. The voices were coming farther down the tunnel. They crept forward, careful that their footfalls wouldn't be detected. Around the corner, the tunnels split into a myriad of ways, one way leading out into a large opening where Nuka could see led them out of the narrow tunneling.

And there they were, clad in green and gold. They didn't seem like your regular soldiers like the ones up top, their build stronger, sleeker. More efficient to kill. They loitered around one of the smaller tunnels, looking over maps and diagrams that were probably their attempts to figure out which was was which.

But what were they doing down here? How did they even get here?

When he and Osina pulled back, however, she looked horrified. And her horror clicked into his own. Tikaani.

She had to have.

_They've shown us the way._

He thought that maybe _she _would be the one down here. Not letting soldiers in the catacombs down here.

"They're trying to reach the palace," Osina said quietly, face mouth slack but her eyes wide. "The control room in the palace. It will lead them to the chiefs, all that _information…_"

"What-"

Osina shook her head. "They can't. They can't, they can't, they can't. If they get there then they'll get be able to get so many of the Tribe's secrets. The _file _I'm supposed to give your mother. No, she needs to see it." She faced him, a fierocity in her eyes. "Nuka, you have to go. Warn them. I'll get rid of them."

Nuka's mouth fell open.

"What? No!" He hissed. "I can't leave you here. They'll kill you!"

But she shook her head again. "It doesn't matter. This is more important. If they get their hands on the chiefs, on all the information closely guarded for our nation, all the things I've… they can take control. Destroy us from the inside out. It'll start with us. Then the Southern Water Tribe. And your mother _needs _the file I'm supposed to give them. There are things in there that she has to see, has to decipher."

"Miss Osina, _please_-"

"Nuka, _listen to _me. You don't understand." She put a hand to his face, blue eyes somber yet lit all the same. "You're so young. So much you don't know. So much you don't realize about your future and what it could be if… No. You don't realize it yet, but if the people trying to hurt us today succeed the future of the world will be altered in a way you can't understand. The Northern Water Tribe harbors the spirit oasis, a whole spirit portal leading to the south, massively important trade routes run to and from here, economies will collapse if- you don't understand and, for your sake, I hope you don't have to so soon."

This was madness. Madness and so much information, all of it vague. Too much to process all at once. He _didn't _understand what she was saying. If he left here, she would _die_. DIdn't she understand what that would do to Sila?

"If anything happens to you, it'll destroy Sila. We can both get out of here-"

She shook her head again. "I can't get anywhere fast as I am now. I'll only slow you down. And no, it wouldn't do that to her. She would miss me, yes. It would hurt, yes. But my daughter is not so easily broken. That spirit is impossible to destroy. I love her very much, but she does not _need _me. And I'm proud of that. She will be fine."

_Fine?_

"She needs you…" he said weakly.

"No, she will miss me, but… she does not need me. She's grown so much..." she said, her voice going a little hoarse. "We don't have time for this… Nuka, _please_. I won't necessarily… I'll be right behind you. You'll see."

She smiled tentatively at him.

Liar, he wanted to say. But those eyes told him the truth. She was not lying. But comforting his spirit.

No.

_No_.

This couldn't be happening. Where was all this coming from? So… just like that? Like a passing moment in the wind? No prelude or warning to it this?

He was just supposed to let go so easily? Another _life?_

Of course, there was nothing for certain saying that she would be killed, but the _odds_.

"Nuka," she said one last time.

He looked at her, still feeling a warm hand on his face and a pair of lively blue eyes staring up at him.

Maybe…

Maybe she would be just fine. A little banged up in the end, but they would come back for her.

Yes, they would come back for her.

"She loves you," Nuka choked out. "She loves you _so much_. And she's so proud of you. Who you've become. She's strong because of you. Looks up to you. Sila just… she loves you _so _much."

He could see Osina's breathing catch in her throat, her eyes glossy and silver lining them. "Thank you," she whispered. "You tell her the same. I couldn't dream up a better daughter even if I tried. You tell her that, okay?"

Nuka swallowed. "Just in case."

Osina nodded, letting out a breath. "Just in case. Now, go. I'll catch up with you, okay dear?"

He wondered if he was talking to Sila through him or talking to him or… both.

He nodded. "Take care."

He couldn't believe his feet were moving. That his feet were moving faster when he heard those soldiers yell after him to come back, he moved, ran. Had to get away and he couldn't believe he was thinking that. His chest felt that heavy weight again, harder than it had before. Achingly clinging to his chest.

They would come _back _for her.

Even as he heard the tunnel collapse behind him, he ran it through his head like a mantra. If only just to keep him moving where he needed to go.

They would come back for her.

"Baoki, she's so pretty."

Her hands felt inside her coat as she whispered to herself. She always kept a myriad of things in her coats, sometimes they were prototypes of dangerous things, but this particular thing she had grabbed when the chaos had erupted. She was no marksman after all or a fighter. What if she had to defend herself? Or someone else?

They were just little pads. Little pads that she had slipped into her jacket pockets.

"She's so strong. And beautiful. So independent. She reminds me of you, you know. Never one to beat around the bush." She laughed a little at that memory. "And her smile is yours too. Small but so innocent. Pure, but not frail."

They saw her before they'd realized where she stood. Between them and the opening where Nuka had escaped through. Good. He knew all that was in her heart for her baby girl. And those words he had spoken to her…

Even though the quaking in her bones, all she felt was peace.

The soldiers approached her, hands reaching out, words harsh.

"I'll tell you all about her, honey."

They didn't see her clicks the pads in her hands and how she threw out on either sides of her and the cave rumbled and crumbled around them, but she only saw Sila's face.

Something sharp hit the back of her head.

* * *

And so comes our first casualty.

First of all, I'm so sorry it's been an age and a half since I've updated, but I was finishing another fic. But it's done now and here I am!

Osina's death is definitely one of a martyr type and it's going to something of a partial catalyst. I can't explain it all now without swpoiling, but Osina's death kind of marks the beginning of the war. Externally and internally. How's this going to effect Nuka who had to leave her behind? Sila? Korra? It sets the mark that this has finally become real- and personal.

And the thing about it is just how fast it came. Just like that. It's not a long drawn out thing where it's a calculated thing that someone has to go. The realization that Osina's probably going to die (and she makes the pointed decision to if it gives her people a chance) just comes and then it goes. War does that in a way that's totally unfair.

As for why Nuka has to leave her, Osina was already hurt and the soldiers were going to see them as it was. She knew that she probably would have been more of a liability and those few precious seconds were too important. If they got a hold of Nuka then the jig was up. And, as it was, Osina was not about to let him die knowing that it would destroy Korra. If the two of them had tried to escape together, with her using those pads and throwing them in, chances are they might have collapsed the tunnel down on both of them instead.

It hurts me to kill Osina, but she'll live on through Sila. And you guys will get to see that.

As always, guys I love it when you leave those reviews! They really keep me motivated and keep me motivated to write! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


	18. Korra and Nuka: Of Wicked Mind

This fic is also on my tumblr blog where my username is Kuno-chan and my blog name is Dragoness Ramblings.

Disclaimer: Legend of Korra belongs to Michael Dante DiMartino and Bryan Konietzko

* * *

****Korra and Nuka: Of Wicked Mind  
****

* * *

Nuka could barely breathe.

Not necessarily because he was running, but rather at the constant memory of the earth crumbling at his back. Of Osina trapping herself under rock so he could escape. It'd happened so fast. All of it so fast that he was barely still able to believe that it'd even been necessary, but he couldn't think of another solution. Another way they could have gotten out of there without _somebody _dying. And at that idea… it occurred to him that Osina felt like he was worth saving far more than her. For some reason.

It was hard for him to see how.

With a tight feeling in his belly, he tried to recall the path Osina told them to take when they started their trek. Thankfully, he had a good memory and a decent sense of direction because at least _that _wouldn't make him feel like he'd wasted the chance Sila's mother was giving him.

He refused to believe she was gone.

She could still survive and he wasn't going to give up on that until he absolutely had to.

He quickly made his way through Osina's path with a mental map in mind, turning corners and going through large caverns where there was several tunnels, but he took a deep breath each time he saw those and tried to remember which path was the right one.

He didn't know whether it was luck or misfortune that he found his destination so quickly, an entrance way hidden in ice that led up a flight of stairs and into what looked like some kind of control room. Lucky for all these people that he found them without delay. Those soldiers knew how to get down here now and who knew before somebody sent more?

He saw his father speaking with a man that looked to be in charge: a man with blue eyes and braids. Then, he saw Sila. That tight feeling in his belly became almost unbearable when he strode over to him, her brows furrowed. Spirits, she already knew something was wrong. Of course, how could she not when he showed up alone-

"Nuka… You took a while. We we're getting worried." she began, quiet and slow. Her brows remained knitted. "Why are you… where's my mother?"

Nuka was at a loss for words. He didn't know what to say. What to do. If he dared. But he had to. How could he not tell her that her mother was possibly-

He looked in those eyes. Eyes that were fully trusting of him. Ever since she'd met back up with him on this trip she had never shown him a thread of distrust.

He couldn't lie to her.

And, that meant, he couldn't lie to himself. Everything he told himself earlier suddenly couldn't stand. Sila's mother was lying underneath that rubble and there was a good chance... a _damn _good chance that she wasn't walking out of there. His eyes much have gone glossy because he blinked away the wet feeling as his father also came over, opening his mouth to say something, but pausing at the apparent look on Nuka's face.

Sila stepped forward. "Nuka, _where's my mom?_"

"I…" He couldn't. He couldn't do this, but spirits he had to. He shook his head at her. "There were… there were soldiers down here. Men who must have followed us from earlier. They weren't going to let us pass and your mom, she…" Nuka swallowed as Sila's eyes went slightly wide. "She made sure that I did to warn you all. She… she made sure the tunnel collapsed."

Mercifully, Nuka's father didn't say anything. In fact, he took a step away. Sila, on the other hand, just stared at Nuka.

It was only in that moment that he realized most of the room was staring at him.

He let her die. That was what he felt like they were thinking. How could he just let someone die like that? So _easily_.

There was that crushing weight in his chest as he tried to speak. "I'm…" he tried. "Sila, I'm so sorry. I should have-"

He felt her hand on his arm. A firm grip that didn't waver. To steady him. To steady her. He didn't know. Looking at her again, there was a pain in her eyes, but she shifted into that warrior he knew. The girl as sturdy as the shield she carried. He didn't know what to say when she told him, "Don't do that to yourself."

"I'm sorry," he said again, something in him breaking as the words escaped him. Spirits forgive him, he let her mother die. He let another human being just… _die_.

"So am I," she croaked, pausing as she turned to face the room, giving him one last squeeze of the arm. She faced a large man standing next to Nuka's father now and talked to him directly. "Soldiers know there are tunnels down here now. It will only be a matter of time before they bring more and find this place. I think we need to move."

The man, clearly in charge by his stance, regarded her with an evaluating gaze. He looked over Nuka with that same look. "You're sure these were enemy soldiers?"

Nuka nodded miserably. "Positive. They wore the uniform."

"Then Osina bought us precious time," he said, his voice growing into a loud boom. "And we will _not _let it be in vain. Everybody pack up! Gather all important files and information you can carry and get to the exit in an organized fashion! We're moving out of here in fifteen minutes tops!"

The man turned away from them to begin grabbing things. Nuka, on the other hand, could barely move.

"Sila-"

Sila looked at him, her face calm but tempered by something somber. "Nuka, I don't blame you," she said point blank. "But right now we need to move."

Nuka shook his head, moreso at himself than at her, "I'm sorry."

She sighed. "I know you are. But right now is the time to focus. My mother would want you to-" Her voice broke. " To focus. Please."

A plea. Her eyes were brighter than normal and she was stiller than usual. As if inside and out she was struggling to function, but her mind was forcing her into some kind of action. Any.

"...alright," he said quietly. She didn't even nod at him and turned away. Some part of him sinked into the hollow place that had formed in his belly.

It had all happened so fast.

-:-:-:-

**Korra**

-:-:-:-

Korra was a smart woman.

For all the things that she was, an idiot was not one of them. But she sure did feel like she was making a stupid move by climbing up the ladder of this blimp. It'd fallen from the blimp for her - a clear invitation. Just climb right into the enemy clutches. She supposed Mako had a reason to worry about her so often.

Still, if Hanyo was still Hanyo then that was her saving grace. This way of coming back into public eye sure was him - out in the open, dramatic and utterly time wasting. He liked his entrances. She wasn't even remotely surprised when she climbed up the opening and into a room with nothing but a radio on a table against the wall facing her. She looked up, nobody even among the inner workings of the blimp for her to see.

Typical. After all these years, he clearly hadn't changed much. If anything, the only thing he seemed was crazier if all these attacks were to go off of.

She approached the radio and snatched the end of it to her mouth. "I see you're still the same," she said, pressing the button. "You haven't changed."

The radio took a moment, then spurred to life. "I see you haven't either, Avatar Korra." His voice was still creepy as ever. That polite monotone. A pleasant something there that just wasn't right with the world. "You were always a gracious guest."

"Cut it," Korra snapped. "You were the one behind the Air Temple Island attack. And the attempted assassination on the Beifongs in Zaofu… why?"

She still couldn't believe she hadn't saw it. Hadn't thought of it. Her hope was that he had wasted away somewhere where he couldn't hurt anybody else. Apparently she was wrong.

"But my dear, Korra, why not?"

Korra frowned, resisting the urge to crush the radio speaker in her hand. "I can play twenty questions just the same. Why are you here in the North Pole?"

When he didn't answer, her grip on the radio tightened. Always playing _games_. Games that he never cared involved people's lives. How many people had died because he thought the world was one giant pai sho game?

And this man wanted to be a _king_?

Never. Korra would never allow it as long as she was breathing.

"The North Pole," Hanyo's voice finally came out of the radio again. "Is a wealth of what I need."

Korra frowned. A wealth of what he needed? And what exactly was that?

And then the world stopped when it struck her:

The spirit portal.

It hit her light lightning. Her eyes widened and she looked back through the window, at the spirit portal a pillar of light in the sky. The vines. Everything about the attack on Air Temple Island had been about the spirit vines. All of it a _distraction _so that she wouldn't feel the spirit vines in distress while _she _was distressed about her friends and family being in peril.

Despite it's age, the Northern Water Tribe capitol was still smaller than Republic City. On top of it all, it's government was built like a monarchy. If you had the chiefs then you had the keys to the city.

"You want the portal."

"Correction, Avatar. I _need _that portal. It's going to deliver me my crown. One you stole from me after you helped tarnish my country with this so called democracy." She could almost hear him smiling like nothing but a man bemused by a simple joke. "How might that be coming by the way? I've heard _terrible _things over the decade. The war never did end for you, did it? For my beloved country?"

"Beloved." Korra scoffed, but her jaw tightened. "Don't make me laugh. You killed anyone in your way. Even people who weren't. You were there when you slaughtered the airbenders and air acolytes at the Southern Air Temple. You killed them for no reason at all."

Hanyo sighed. "Always incorrect. I didn't kill them for no reason." He chuckled. It made Korra's blood run cold. "I killed them because it made you finally listen."

It took all of Korra's strength not to outright break the radio even as she heard it crack in her hand. Hanyo was the same. Slimy, apathetic and above all, a _coward_.

"And where are you now?" she said coldly, bracing on hand on the table. "Hiding? I know you're not on this blimp. You only show your face when you know you're going to win. Or when there's carnage that's extra satisfying to you. Don't think anybody's fooled by you. You're just a sadist. And you listen to me and listen good: You will _never _be king. I will never let you. Even if they crown you, I will come for you and I will end you in your sleep. I swear it on my honor as an Avatar. Hanyo of the Hou-Ting dynasty, you will never wear that crown physically or in formality so long as you shall live."

Silence. Utter silence over that radio. It was too long for him to have just shrugged off her words. She wondered if he was just staring at the device in front of him or if he was smashing something in his wake. Knowing him, he was probably doing the former and would do the other later.

The radio fizzed to life again. "Such empty promises. You promised to bring balance to the world and, yet, war has ravaged my people for a decade because of you. You promised to protect your child and, yet again, you failed and she left you. A failed Avatar and a poor mother." Korra's stomach lurched. "Worry not. It's all going to be over soon. Today, I wonder, if I will decide that you die. Or would it be much more interesting to see you resist me before I crush you? Perhaps Tikaani would like to see that?"

"You leave my daughter out of this!" Korra felt the radio cracking in her hand. "What do you know about her?"

"I know she left you. As does the whole world."

It was Korra's turn to take too long to answer. Finally, she replied, "You sure do love hearing yourself talk, don't you?"

"As I said, Avatar… soon. Soon this will all be over for you."

Korra shook her head and… and she smiled. A wicked smile when she realized one thing. "Oh, it will be over for me. And for you. You're so confident when you talk that I can just _hear _the spoiled royalty in you. I bet you're somewhere just drinking tea and waiting for someone to come tell you that you've won. You don't even know what's going on, do you?"

That undiluted silence.

She went on. "Well, to give you an idea, you should at least know enough that you're well aware your forces only have so much time for your attack. It's very time sensitive with that United Republic military base not _too _far from here." She snorted. "You didn't know about the second wall, did you? It's such a new thing, why would you? You're little pincer attack to trap the chiefs isn't going to work here if you're men can't storm the palace. And if my calculations are correct, the United Republic air support should be here any minute. You're just about out of time."

"And you've always been such a gracious guest. I'm sure you won't mind helping with that."

Metal chains exploded from the ceiling, reaching down like vines right toward her. She rolled back and out of the way, diving for the exit on the floor that was closing for her. Her leg caught, the metal chain reeling her in as the floor completely closed up on her. She crunched her body up, commandeering one of the chains for herself and adding a little bit of firebending behind it to free herself. Landing on her back, she jumped right back up, coming face to face with more of those black clad fighters she'd encountered on Air Temple Island.

"Sorry. I have another appointment I have to get to," she growled and spun, a wheel of fire dancing from her hands and onto the floor. The fighters moved and raised their arms to shield themselves. Turning her attention to the metal door on the floor, she ripped it and open and leapt through, airbending guiding her safely to the ground. On the way down, she looked up. The blimp began to move away, back toward the ocean.

She snorted. "He never was a good general."

Hanyo, if anything, always reminded her of a bad mob boss with too many people under his command that were probably much smarter than him.

Of course, all of what she had said to him was mild conjecture. Did she think the United Republic Airforce was coming? Probably. Did she _know? _No. If anything, she was expecting him to let her know that he had them in his claws too. She wouldn't have been surprised. If there was anything Hanyo had under his belt it was influence. His name and money always were his biggest strengths. They were his _driving forces._

That was what the Monarchists had clung to at his height almost a decade ago. That had been what was on its way to bring a nation to it's knees. She went over it in her head sometimes. What Hanyo had at his disposal at the time. A nation in borderline anarchy - pure anarchy in some cases - a verified name and bloodline that legitimized and enough people who thought that was enough to make a king. Not to mention the desperate people. The people who were desperate for _anybody _who would end their suffering.

She understood what that felt like.

-:-:-:-

"What do you mean we're _retreating?_"

Namada revealed the blinker in his palm, red light pulsing. "It's the signal, sis. We've got to go. Mission aborted."

"But we're so _close!_" Gurana punched the cavern wall. "What's wrong? Why do we have to go? Look, we'll stay and-"

"And be trapped behind enemy lines." Tikaani said frankly. "We don't have enough time, apparently."

"Shut _up_." Gurana growled viciously at a stony Tikaani. "This is your fault! You stopped to have that little reunion with your stupid brother and now we're behind!"

Tikaani raised a brow. "None of us even knew the entrance into the caverns. That was part of the entire plan-"

"Making it all _time sensitive_-"

"And the girl he was with-" Tikaani went on, ignoring Gurana's fuming. "Knew the entrance to the catacombs intimately well. It was the shortest route."

And still not enough time.

All of this, in reality, had been a waste of their time. So much effort and so many resources poured into half hearted attacks that achieved little. A showboat. A peacock eagle's dance to the world.

All a waste of time.

Gurana glowered at her, eyes flashing with that lack of something. Lack of a few things, really. And all sparks in her mind. "If you had anything to do with this failure," she seethed. "I swear to the _spirits, I'll-_"

"I happen to be on this mission with you. If you hadn't noticed," Tikaani interrupted. "And, now, if you're done we can go before we get left behind. I doubt you would want Lord Hanyo to do that."

All that fire and spark in Gurana died and she went white. "He would never-"

"She's right," Namada put a hand on Gurana's shoulder. "We need to go before somebody finds us down here and we get put in some prison."

Gurana, apparently taking all of that into consideration as she stared hard at the ground, clenched her fists. The earth beneath her feet cracked a little. She glared up at Tikaani. "Fine." she said through gritted teeth. "But if Lord Hanyo asks, this is _your _fault."

Tikaani turned on her heel and began to walk back the way they came.

An absolute _waste _of her damned time.

* * *

I am so sorry it's taken almost a year to update. And it's not even a long update, but next chapter should be the last chapter in this arc (if not this one then the one after that) and we can move on to the next part in this story. The highlight of this chapter is definitely Korra and Hanyo talking. Setting up that dynamic, for me, is really important because this is the guy who was the bane of Korra's existence back in the day. He's unlike any of Korra's former villains in that any composure he has is fake and apathetic and it's just such a veil to Korra. She sees right through him and that helps pan out their dynamic going forward.

Once again, I'm so sorry. If you're reading this then thank you! I really appreciate it and I'm so grateful! As always, guys you know that I love those reviews! It really keeps me motivated and keeps me writing and that's something this story definitely needs! Thank you for reading! Tune in for next chapter!


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